The interstitium in cardiac repair: role of the immune-stromal cell interplay.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2018
JAX Location
Reprint Collection
JAX Source
Nat Rev Cardiol 2018 Oct; 15(10):601-616.
Volume
15
Issue
10
First Page
601
Last Page
616
ISSN
1759-5010
PMID
30181596
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-018-0077-x
Abstract
Cardiac regeneration, that is, restoration of the original structure and function in a damaged heart, differs from tissue repair, in which collagen deposition and scar formation often lead to functional impairment. In both scenarios, the early-onset inflammatory response is essential to clear damaged cardiac cells and initiate organ repair, but the quality and extent of the immune response vary. Immune cells embedded in the damaged heart tissue sense and modulate inflammation through a dynamic interplay with stromal cells in the cardiac interstitium, which either leads to recapitulation of cardiac morphology by rebuilding functional scaffolds to support muscle regrowth in regenerative organisms or fails to resolve the inflammatory response and produces fibrotic scar tissue in adult mammals. Current investigation into the mechanistic basis of homeostasis and restoration of cardiac function has increasingly shifted focus away from stem cell-mediated cardiac repair towards a dynamic interplay of cells composing the less-studied interstitial compartment of the heart, offering unexpected insights into the immunoregulatory functions of cardiac interstitial components and the complex network of cell interactions that must be considered for clinical intervention in heart diseases.
Recommended Citation
Forte E,
Furtado M,
Rosenthal N.
The interstitium in cardiac repair: role of the immune-stromal cell interplay. Nat Rev Cardiol 2018 Oct; 15(10):601-616.