Adult cardiomyocyte regeneration: if I could ever travel back time

Myocardial infarction (MI), also known as heart attack, affects more than three million people per year in United States and remains to be the leading cause of mortality world-wide due to lack of effective treatment (1). During acute MI, a large number of cardiomyocytes are lost by necrosis due to insufficient blood supply. Due to a lack of regenerative capacity of adult cardiomyocytes (ACM), these infarct areas are subsequently repopulated by fibrotic tissue, forming scar within the myocardium that contributes to eventual heart failure. Therefore, a major goal of the current research on acute MI is to re-supply cardiomyocytes population by inducing regenerative capacity in the adult heart.