Regenerating Heart Muscle

Eric Olson, Ph.D., and Hesham Sadek, M.D., Ph.D., have pinpointed a molecular mechanism needed to unleash the heart’s ability to regenerate. Researchers found that microRNAs – tiny strands that regulate gene expression – contribute to the heart’s ability to regenerate up to one week after birth. Soon thereafter, the heart loses its ability to regenerate. Identifying the heart’s natural regenerative on-off switch is a critical step toward developing therapies for damage suffered after a heart attack.