Key result
The epicardium plays a crucial role in cardiac development and post-injury repair, with emerging single-cell RNA sequencing data revealing distinct cellular subpopulations that contribute to specific lineages and regenerative processes.
Why the study?
It remains unclear whether distinct cell populations within the epicardium contribute to specific lineages and cardiac repair or if the epicardium functions as a whole.
This review highlights the cellular composition and regenerative potential of the epicardium, emphasizing its role as a target for endogenous cardiac repair after ischemic injury.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Should not yet change post-MI management; leaves open epicardial targeting as a regenerative strategy.
The epicardium is an essential cell population during cardiac development. It contributes different cell types to the developing heart through epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and it secretes paracrine factors that support cardiac tissue formation. In the adult heart the epicardium is a quiescent layer of cells which can be reactivated upon ischemic injury, initiating an embryonic-like response in the epicardium that contributes to post-injury repair processes. Therefore, the epicardial layer is considered an interesting target population to stimulate endogenous repair mechanisms. To date it is still not clear whether there are distinct cell populations in the epicardium that contribute to specific lineages or aid in cardiac repair, or that the epicardium functions as a whole. To address this putative heterogeneity, novel techniques such as single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA seq) are being applied. In this review, we summarize the role of the epicardium during development and after injury and provide an overview of the most recent insights into the cellular composition and diversity of the epicardium.
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Streef et al. (2021) conducted a review in Cardiac development and repair. The epicardium plays a crucial role in cardiac development and post-injury repair, with emerging single-cell RNA sequencing data revealing distinct cellular subpopulations that contribute to specific lineages and regenerative processes.
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