Cardiac-derived stem cells.

Current scientific dogma holds that cardiomyocyte stem cells do not exist in the adult mammalian heart, and furthermore, that there is little, if any, potential for the regeneration of damaged myocardium. In order to approach this topic, I have begun with a brief overview of advances in stem cell research in other organ systems, such as the bone marrow and the brain. Very recent progress in cardiac stem cell research is then discussed, which indicates that a cardiomyocyte progenitor cell contributes to cardiomyocyte replacement throughout life. This progenitor cell may reside in the heart itself, or derive from a circulating marrow stem cell.