Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Evidence for Cardiomyocyte Renewal in Humans

Bergmann, Olaf ; Bhardwaj, Ratan D. ; Bernard, Samuel ; Zdunek, Sofia ; Barnabe-Heider, Fanie ; Walsh, Stuart LU ; Zupicich, Joel ; Alkass, Kanar ; Buchholz, Bruce A. and Druid, Henrik , et al. (2009) In Science 324(5923). p.98-102
Abstract
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.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Science
volume
324
issue
5923
pages
98 - 102
publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
external identifiers
  • wos:000264802100041
  • scopus:64249107059
  • pmid:19342590
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.1164680
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory (013022012)
id
d648a19e-6595-4eb3-a302-196ec926bd39 (old id 1401336)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:04:24
date last changed
2022-08-29 05:36:18
@article{d648a19e-6595-4eb3-a302-196ec926bd39,
  abstract     = {{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.}},
  author       = {{Bergmann, Olaf and Bhardwaj, Ratan D. and Bernard, Samuel and Zdunek, Sofia and Barnabe-Heider, Fanie and Walsh, Stuart and Zupicich, Joel and Alkass, Kanar and Buchholz, Bruce A. and Druid, Henrik and Jovinge, Stefan and Frisen, Jonas}},
  issn         = {{1095-9203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5923}},
  pages        = {{98--102}},
  publisher    = {{American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}},
  series       = {{Science}},
  title        = {{Evidence for Cardiomyocyte Renewal in Humans}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1164680}},
  doi          = {{10.1126/science.1164680}},
  volume       = {{324}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}