Plasticity of mesenchymal stem cells--regenerative medicine for diseased hearts.

The phenomenon of regeneration is of growing interest to medical researchers. Until recently this was an area in which research in flatworms and newts predominated, but there is now a proliferation of research concerning regeneration in virtually all of the organs, not only the heart. One of the object is restoration of function to a failing heart through cell transplantation, and there have been many reports seeking donor sources of somatic stem cells, i.e.: stem cells in marrow or skeletal muscle and ES cells, beginning with those in embryonic myocardial cell transplant experiments. In particular, reports of mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into nerve cell, myocardial cell, skeletal muscle cell, and vascular endothelial cell series have drawn attention to cell plasticity, and clinical applications are awaited.