Role of Stem Cells in Cardiac Diseases

The heart is the first organ to become fully functional during development in all organisms. Despite numerous studies in model organisms in the last two decades, the identity of the cardiac progenitor cell (CPC) remains unclear. However, studies have confirmed that most cardiac cells originate from the mesoderm. Work in recent years has shed light on a few genetic markers that are believed to be candidates for expression on the illusive cardiac progenitor cell, such as NKX 2.5, ISL-1, FLK-1, MESP1 and others