Myoblast cell grafting into heart muscle: Cellular biology and potential applications

This review surveys a wide range of cellular and molecular approaches to st rengthening the injured or weakened heart, focusing on strategies to replac e dysfunctional, necrotic, or apoptotic cardiomyocytes with new cells of me sodermal origin. A variety of cell types, including myogenic cell lines, ad ult skeletal myoblasts, immortalized atrial cells, embryonic and adult card iomyocytes, embryonic stem cells, teratoma cells, genetically altered fibro blasts, smooth muscle cells, and bone marrow-derived cells have all been pr oposed as useful cells in cardiac repair and may have the capacity to perfo rm cardiac work. We focus on the implantation of mesodermally derived cells , the best developed of the options. We review the developmental and cell b iology that have stimulated these studies, examine the limitations of curre nt knowledge, and identify challenges for the future, which we believe are considerable.