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Stem cells

Do fetal cells repair maternal hearts?

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 9, page 67 (2012)Cite this article

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A new study has shown that fetal cells transfer to the maternal myocardium during pregnancy. Notably, these cells seem specifically to target, and might help repair, injured regions of the heart.

Dr. Hina Chaudhry, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY, USA, noticed the coincidence of a “high rate of recovery in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy, whereby 50% of women spontaneously recover from heart failure” and “more stem cells in the hearts of younger patients with cardiomyopathy compared with older patients”. She wondered, therefore, “if fetal cells might be contributing to the high rate of recovery”.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Kara, R. J. et al. Fetal cells traffic to injured maternal myocardium and undergo cardiac differentiation. Circ. Res. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.111.249037

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  1. Gregory B. Lim
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Lim, G. Do fetal cells repair maternal hearts?. Nat Rev Cardiol 9, 67 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2011.197

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2011.197

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