RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Evidence for Cardiomyocyte Renewal in Humans
JF Science
JO Science
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP 98
OP 102
DO 10.1126/science.1164680
VO 324
IS 5923
A1 Bergmann, Olaf
A1 Bhardwaj, Ratan D.
A1 Bernard, Samuel
A1 Zdunek, Sofia
A1 Barnabé-Heider, Fanie
A1 Walsh, Stuart
A1 Zupicich, Joel
A1 Alkass, Kanar
A1 Buchholz, Bruce A.
A1 Druid, Henrik
A1 Jovinge, Stefan
A1 Frisén, Jonas
YR 2009
UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/324/5923/98.abstract
AB It has been difficult to establish whether we are limited to the heart muscle cells we are born with or if cardiomyocytes are generated also later in life. We have taken advantage of the integration of carbon-14, generated by nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War, into DNA to establish the age of cardiomyocytes in humans. We report that cardiomyocytes renew, with a gradual decrease from 1% turning over annually at the age of 25 to 0.45% at the age of 75. Fewer than 50% of cardiomyocytes are exchanged during a normal life span. The capacity to generate cardiomyocytes in the adult human heart suggests that it may be rational to work toward the development of therapeutic strategies aimed at stimulating this process in cardiac pathologies.