Direct Reprogramming of Fibroblasts into Cardiomyocytes by Defined Factors and Its Application to Potential Regenerative Therapies

Research Project Outline

Heart disease is a leading cause of mortality. Because cardiomyocytes have little or no regenerative capacity, cardiac regeneration is a very exciting therapeutic approach. Pluripotent stem cells possess cardiogenic potential, but efficiency of cardiac differentiation, risk of tumor formation, and survival of transplanted cells must be overcome. We recently found that a combination of three developmental transcription factors reprogrammed cardiac fibroblasts directly into cardiomyocytes in mouse. We will investigate the mechanism of cardiac reprogramming and advance this new technology for potential regenerative therapies.