title: Cardiac progenitor cells for heart repair.
abstract: Stem cell therapy is being investigated as an innovative and promising strategy to restore cardiac function in patients with heart failure. Several stem cell populations, including adult (multipotent) stem cells from developed organs and tissues, have been tested for cardiac repair with encouraging clinical and pre-clinical results. The heart has been traditionally considered a post-mitotic organ, however, this view has recently changed with the identification of stem/progenitor cells residing within the adult heart. Given their cardiac developmental origins, these endogenous cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) may represent better candidates for cardiac cell therapy compared with stem cells from other organs such as the bone marrow and adipose tissue. This brief review will outline current research into CPC populations and their cardiac repair/regenerative potential.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Heart Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney, New South Wale 2145, Australia; Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney, New South Wale 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Tyl
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Centre of Heart Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney, New South Wale 2145, Australia; Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney, New South Wale 2145, Australia; Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wale 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Jjh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chong