A latent cardiomyocyte regeneration potential in the human heart

Derks, W.; Rode, J.; Collin, S.; Rost, F.; Heinke, P.; Hariharan, A.; Pickel, L.; Simonova, I.; Lazar, E.; Graham, E.; Jashari, R.; Andrae, M.; Jeppsson, A.; Salehpour, M.; Alkass, K.; Druid, H.; Kyriakopoulos, C.; Taleb, I.; Shankar, T.; Selzman, C.; Sadek, H.; Jovinge, S.; Brusch, L.; Frisen, J.; Drakos, S.; Bergmann, O.

doi:10.1101/2023.09.14.557681

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.09.14.557681

A latent cardiomyocyte regeneration potential in the human heart

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Abstract

Cardiomyocytes in the adult human heart show a regenerative capacity, with an annual renewal rate around 0.5%. Whether this regenerative capacity of human cardiomyocytes is employed in heart failure has been controversial. Using retrospective 14C birth dating we analyzed cardiomyocyte renewal in patients with end-stage heart failure. We show that cardiomyocyte generation is minimal in end-stage heart failure patients at rates 18-50 times lower compared to the healthy heart. However, patients receiving left ventricle support device therapy, who showed significant functional and structural cardiac improvement, had a >6-fold increase in cardiomyocyte renewal relative to the healthy heart. Our findings reveal a substantial cardiomyocyte regeneration potential in human heart disease, which could be exploited therapeutically.

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Derks, W., Rode, J., Collin, S., Rost, F., Heinke, P., Hariharan, A., Pickel, L., Simonova, I., Lazar, E., Graham, E., Jashari, R., Andrae, M., Jeppsson, A., Salehpour, M., Alkass, K., Druid, H., Kyriakopoulos, C., Taleb, I., Shankar, T., Selzman, C., Sadek, H., Jovinge, S., Brusch, L., Frisen, J., Drakos, S., Bergmann, O.. 2023-09-17. A latent cardiomyocyte regeneration potential in the human heart. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.14.557681

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