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Evidence for Cardiomyocyte Renewal in Humans

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Author

  • Olaf Bergmann
  • Ratan D. Bhardwaj
  • Samuel Bernard
  • Sofia Zdunek
  • Fanie Barnabe-Heider
  • Stuart Walsh
  • Joel Zupicich
  • Kanar Alkass
  • Bruce A. Buchholz
  • Henrik Druid
  • Stefan Jovinge
  • Jonas Frisen
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Summary, in English

It has been difficult to establish whether we are limited to the heart muscle cells we are born with or if cardiomyocytes are generated also later in life. We have taken advantage of the integration of carbon-14, generated by nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War, into DNA to establish the age of cardiomyocytes in humans. We report that cardiomyocytes renew, with a gradual decrease from 1% turning over annually at the age of 25 to 0.45% at the age of 75. Fewer than 50% of cardiomyocytes are exchanged during a normal life span. The capacity to generate cardiomyocytes in the adult human heart suggests that it may be rational to work toward the development of therapeutic strategies aimed at stimulating this process in cardiac pathologies.

Department/s

Publishing year

2009

Language

English

Pages

98-102

Publication/Series

Science

Volume

324

Issue

5923

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Topic

  • Cell and Molecular Biology

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1095-9203