Dynamics of cardiac wound healing following myocardial infarction: observations in genetically altered mice.
Recent improvements in the clinical management of acute myocardial infarction (MI) have resulted in a dramatic decrease in mortality because of this condition. This implies that more patients enter the process of infarct healing. This is a highly complex cascade of events which, although studied for decades, is still not completely understood. An increasing number of genetically altered mice can now be studied in a mouse model of MI, to investigate the contribution of the product of the targeted gene to the infarct healing process. In this review, we will discuss the defects in infarct healing that have been observed in null mutants for plasminogen, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPS), thrombospondin-2 and dishevelled-1. These studies provide new insights in the infarct healing process itself, but may also help to define new diagnostic and therapeutic targets in humans suffering from MI.
Blankesteijn
W M
WM
Department of Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Universiteit Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Creemers
E
E
Lutgens
E
E
Cleutjens
J P
JP
Daemen
M J
MJ
Smits
J F
JF
D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000818:Animals; D000072261:Dishevelled Proteins; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D010958:Plasminogen / Q000235:genetics; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator / Q000235:genetics; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; C000606578:DVL1 protein, human; D000072261:Dishevelled Proteins; C000606579:Dvl1 protein, mouse; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D011506:Proteins; D010958:Plasminogen; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases