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Review
. 2007 Apr;87(2):521-44.
doi: 10.1152/physrev.00032.2006.

Cardiac myocyte cell cycle control in development, disease, and regeneration

Preeti Ahuja  1 , Patima Sdek, W Robb MacLellan
Affiliations
Review

Cardiac myocyte cell cycle control in development, disease, and regeneration

Preeti Ahuja et al. Physiol Rev. 2007 Apr.

Abstract

Cardiac myocytes rapidly proliferate during fetal life but exit the cell cycle soon after birth in mammals. Although the extent to which adult cardiac myocytes are capable of cell cycle reentry is controversial and species-specific differences may exist, it appears that for the vast majority of adult cardiac myocytes the predominant form of growth postnatally is an increase in cell size (hypertrophy) not number. Unfortunately, this limits the ability of the heart to restore function after any significant injury. Interest in novel regenerative therapies has led to the accumulation of much information on the mechanisms that regulate the rapid proliferation of cardiac myocytes in utero, their cell cycle exit in the perinatal period, and the permanent arrest (terminal differentiation) in adult myocytes. The recent identification of cardiac progenitor cells capable of giving rise to cardiac myocyte-like cells has challenged the dogma that the heart is a terminally differentiated organ and opened new prospects for cardiac regeneration. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of cardiomyocyte cell cycle control in normal development and disease. In addition, we also discuss the potential usefulness of cardiomyocyte self-renewal as well as feasibility of therapeutic manipulation of the cardiac myocyte cell cycle for cardiac regeneration.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Regulation of cardiac cell cycle
Schematic diagram of the factors involved in cell cycle progression in cardiac myocytes
Figure 2
Figure 2. Control of cardiac cell cycle
Schematic representation of the factors influencing cardiac myocyte cell cycle progression and proliferation at different developmental stages. The potential outcomes of growth factor stimulation of adult cardiac myocytes namely proliferation, endoreduplication and hypertrophy in cardiac myocytes are also shown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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