After myocardial injury, the cardiac muscle does not regenerate and heals by forming a scar. This process results in loss of heart function and ultimately heart failure. Recent application of reprogramming technology, where forced expression of master regulators convert scar-forming cells to become cardiovascular cells in vivo, has fueled new hope for the development of therapies targeting heart disease.
Keywords: cardiomyocytes; cardiovascular diseases; cardiovascular regeneration; transdifferentiation; transflammation.