New source of heart stem cells found: study

Researchers in the United States have discovered a new group of stem cells that can give rise to heart muscle cells, known as cardiomyocytes, according to a study published on Sunday.

The stem cells are located in the outermost layer of the heart and could one day play a critical role in regenerating injured heart tissue, the researchers say. 8220;In heart failure, you lose cardiomyocytes, so the only way to reverse heart failure is to make more of these cells,8221; said William Pu, the study8217;s lead researcher. The new findings come on the heels of two earlier breakthroughs.

In 2006 scientists identified another cardiac stem cell 8212; marked by the expression of a gene called Nkx2-5 8212; with the potential to become either heart muscle or cells lining blood vessels in the organ8217;s left-sided chambers.

Gene expression is the process by which information encoded in the DNA of a particular gene is transformed into a protein or RNA, which plays a key role in protein synthesis.