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Potential of Different Types of Stem Cells for Cardiomyocyte Regeneration

Pavana Thomas, Sarah Sunitha and Krishna Murthy V

Cardiac disorders are a major cause of death in the world today, causing a greater number of deaths as compared to even communicable diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrhea and malaria. Cardiac disease may occur due to either atherosclerosis or ischemia, both of which lead to decreased blood supply to the myocardium that would bring about necrosis of cardiac tissue, finally resulting in a decrease in the ejection fraction of the heart. Stem cells with their ability to divide and differentiate into many kinds of cells, help in regenerating the injured tissue in the heart that has lost its ability to relax and contract, thus resulting in an improvement in the overall functioning of the heart. Embryonic stem cells, haematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and resident cardiac stem cells are some of the types of cells capable of cardiac regeneration. This article describes the properties of these stem cells, their advantages, shortcomings and factors that affect their efficacy in cardiac regeneration.