Researchers have led an international study identifying the cardiac cells responsible for repairing the damage to the heart after infarction. These “restorative” cells are a subpopulation of cardiac fibroblasts that play a fundamental role in the creation of the collagen scar needed to avoid the rupture of the ventricular wall.
The research also reveals the molecular mechanisms involved in the activation of these cells and the regulation of their function.
This finding, in which basic and clinical researchers have participated, will permit the identification of new therapeutic targets and the development of targeted therapies which will control the healing process of the heart after infarction.
The study has been published in the latest issue of the journal Circulation, the leading scientific journal of the American Heart Association.
Characterisation of the reparative…