Multipotent progenitor cells in regenerative cardiovascular medicine.

Regenerative therapies for heart diseases require the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern the fates and differentiation of the diverse muscle and nonmuscle cell lineages that form during heart development. During mouse cardiogenesis, the major lineages of the mature heart, cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle, endothelial cells, and cardiac mesenchyme, arise from multipotent cardiovascular progenitors expressing the transcription factors Mesp1, Isl1, Nkx2-5, and Tbx18. Recent identification of stem/progenitor cells of embryonic origin with intrinsic competence to differentiate into multiple lineages of the heart offers exciting new possibilities for cardiac regeneration. When combined with new advances in nuclear reprogramming, the prospect of achieving autologous, cardiomyogenic, stem-cell-based therapy might be within reach.