Converting scar tissue to heart muscle after a heart attack

(University of Tsukuba) Researchers from the University of Tsukuba showed that cardiac scar tissue (fibroblasts) can be directly reprogrammed to heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) in mice. By treating mice post-heart attack with a virus carrying cardiac transcription factors, they found that new cardiomyocytes were formed by fibroblasts converting into cardiomyocytes as opposed to fibroblasts fusing with existing cardiomyocytes. This study demonstrates the potential of direct reprograming as a ...