One of the many frontiers of development in regenerative medicine is the delivery of cells engineered to overexpress one or more specific proteins in order to adjust cell function and activity in a favorable direction. Here, researchers demonstrate that making cardiomyocytes express cyclin D2 before transplantation into an animal model of a heart attack produces beneficial regeneration. The heart is a poorly regenerative organ, and any injury results in scarring and reduced capacity at best. The engineered cardiomyocytes survive following transplantation to some degree, but also produce signaling that provokes greater regenera…
A Potential Cyclin D2 Expressing Cell Therapy for Heart Regeneration
One of the many frontiers of development in regenerative medicine is the delivery of cells engineered to overexpress one or more specific proteins in order to adjust cell function and activity in a favorable direction. Here, researchers demonstrate that making cardiomyocytes express cyclin D2 before transplantation into an animal model of a heart attack produces beneficial regeneration. The heart is a poorly regenerative organ, and any injury results in scarring and reduced capacity at best. The engineered cardiomyocytes survive following transplantation to some degree, but also produce signaling that provokes greater regenera…