Mechanistic Understanding and Approaches to Promote Human Heart Regeneration

Myocardial ischemia injury to the adult heart leads to an irreversible damage to the myocardium resulting in cardiac dysfunction and increased morbidity and mortality. Current therapeutic interventions can significantly improve the heart functions thanks to both reparative and regenerative mechanisms. Several strategies, such as stimulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation, cell transplantation, and direct reprogramming of non-myocytes to cardiomyocytes, have proven to have the potential to provide new myocytes to the injured heart in preclinical models. Overall, several findings have led to important advances in both basic and clinical research, with significant results leading to a steady decline in the rates of both myocardial infarction and associated fatalities.

This Research Topic aims to provide state of the art insights into the significant advances made in the mechanistic understanding of the heart regeneration process, and in the therapeutic interventions, challenges and limitations faced to promote heart regeneration for heart failure patients, from small animal models to clinical trials.

Specific themes to be addressed by the authors include, but are not limited to:
• Molecular processes involved in the regenerative vs non-regenerative conditions;
• Mechanistic understanding of the heart regeneration process;
• Translational approaches to induce heart regeneration;
• Roadblocks to achieve heart regeneration in human context.