[Oct. 18] 96th IRCMS Seminar

October 11 2023

We would like to inform you that the 96th IRCMS seminar has been scheduled as below.
* This IRCMS seminar is open to everyone.

Date      : October 18, 2023 (Wednesday)

Time      : 16:00-17:00

ZOOM　: Meeting ID: 840 3942 0580
            　Passcode: IRCMSsem96

Speaker : Dr. Wataru Kimura (RIKEN)

Title        :  Transition in Heart Regeneration from Birth Onward

Abstract :

In adult mammals, the heart is arguably one of the least regenerative organs. A substantial loss of cardiomyocytes due to tissue damage such as myocardial infarction therefore often leads to heart failure. For this reason, cardiac regeneration has long been a prime objective in cardiovascular research and medicine. Although all mammalian species investigated so far lack the ability of cardiac regeneration in adulthood, fetal and early neonatal mammals possess this capacity. The restoration of lost cardiomyocytes is mediated by the proliferation of existing cardiomyocytes in all studied mammals, indicating an evolutionarily conserved regenerative mechanism. Understanding mechanisms that drive cardiomyocyte proliferation in the postnatal mammalian heart could therefore pave the way for promoting cardiac regeneration. Yet, induction of cardiomyocyte proliferation in the adult mammalian heart remains a significant challenge. To tackle this, we firstly utilized gray short-tailed opossum and took a comparative biology-based approach to unveil mechanisms underlying cardiomyocyte proliferation. As a result, we identified AMPK signaling as an evolutionary conserved signaling pathway that mediates postnatal cardiomyocyte cell cycle arrest in mammals. Secondly, a pharmacological approach to induce cell cycle entry in non-proliferative cardiomyocytes. Our studies have identified a critical signaling pathway as well as a small molecule-mediated method to induce cardiomyocyte proliferation and cardiac regeneration in the non-regenerative adult heart. In addition, these studies also led us to the notion that metabolic regulation, either systemically or in a cardiomyocyte-specific manner, is essential for the induction of cardiomyocyte proliferation and cardiac regeneration.

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