Open Access
Postnatal Cardiac Development and Regenerative Potential in Large Mammals
Author(s) -
Nivedhitha Velayutham,
Emma J Agnew,
Katherine E. Yutzey
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
pediatric cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1432-1971
pISSN - 0172-0643
DOI - 10.1007/s00246-019-02163-7
Subject(s) - regeneration (biology) , heart development , neuroscience , cardiac cell , biology , mammalian heart , cardiovascular physiology , regenerative medicine , cardiac surgery , medicine , bioinformatics , physiology , stem cell , embryonic stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology , genetics , gene
The neonatal capacity for cardiac regeneration in mice is well studied and has been used to develop many potential strategies for adult cardiac regenerative repair following injury. However, translating these findings from rodents to designing regenerative therapeutics for adult human heart disease remains elusive. Large mammals including pigs, dogs, and sheep are widely used as animal models of humans in preclinical trials of new cardiac drugs and devices. However, very little is known about the fundamental cardiac cell biology and the timing of postnatal cardiac events that influence cardiomyocyte proliferation in these animals. There is emerging evidence that external physiological and environmental cues could be the key to understanding cardiomyocyte proliferative behavior. In this review, we survey available literature on postnatal development in various large mammal models to offer a perspective on the physiological and cellular characteristics that could be regulating cardiomyocyte proliferation. Similarities and differences between developmental milestones, cardiomyocyte maturational events, as well as environmental cues regulating cardiac development, are discussed for various large mammals, with a focus on postnatal cardiac regenerative potential and translatability to the human heart.