Searching for a way to spark heart repair after heart attack

Heterogeneity of the human epicardium: Molecular determinants and functional consequences

Many people who have a heart attack go on to develop heart failure, a condition where the heart cannot pump blood around the body efficiently, due to damage to the heart muscle. Unlike some fish or amphibians, humans are unable to regenerate or replace this lost heart muscle. Researchers want to find ways to switch on this repair in people with damaged hearts by understanding how the heart grows and develops in the first place. Dr Sanjay Sinha and his team are interested in the outer layer of the heart, called the epicardium, which plays a major role during heart muscle development and growth in the embryo. Different types of epicardial cells have different functions, such as making blood vessels or helping heart muscle to grow. In this project, the team will grow epicardium in a dish by reprogramming human stem cells. They will try to identify the signals and processes that cause each type of epicardial cell to develop and function differently. This work could eventually enable them to find a way to activate these cells after a heart attack, and produce new epicardium that can repair the damage caused by a heart attack.