Ellen Heber-Katz PhD
Wistar Inst.
3601 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
heberkatz@wista.wistar.upenn.edu
Ellen Heber-Katz's Biosketch




Regeneration of mammalian cardiac muscle.

Abstract:
It has been known for a long time that the ability to regenerate cardiac tissue exists in amphibians but not mammals.  In fact, it is generally accepted that adult mammalian cardiomyocytes are terminally differentiated and thus do not divide.  Recently, however, it has been shown that stem cells derived from various tissues can differentiate into cardiomyocytes and when placed in the heart allow mammalian cardiac regeneration to occur.  We have identified a unique model for mammalian regeneration, the MRL mouse. Besides regeneration of such tissue as hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and cartilage, we have shown that heart tissue that has been severely injured can as well regenerate with nearly complete spontaneous restoration of tissue architecture and function, thus in the absence of any treatment.  The injury site first fills with fibroblast-like cells and over time are replaced by dividing cardiomyocytes.  The basis for this regeneration, the changes seen during healing, and how this relates to what is found in the stem cell studies will be discussed.