Abstract
The regeneration of a diseased heart is one of the principal challenges of modern cardiovascular medicine. There has been ongoing research on stem-cell-based therapeutic approaches. A cell population called telocytes (TCs) described only 16 years ago largely contributed to the research area of cardiovascular regeneration. TCs are cells with small bodies and extremely long cytoplasmic projections called telopodes, described in all layers of the heart wall. Their functions include cell-to-cell signaling, stem-cell nursing, mechanical support, and immunoregulation, to name but a few. The functional derangement or quantitative loss of TCs has been implicated in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction, heart failure, arrhythmias, and many other conditions. The exact pathomechanisms are still unknown, but the loss of regulative, integrative, and nursing functions of TCs may provide important clues. Therefore, a viable avenue in the future modern management of these conditions is TC-based cell therapy. TCs have been previously transplanted into a mouse model of myocardial infarction with promising results. Tandem transplantation with stem cells may provide additional benefit; however, many underresearched areas need to be addressed in future research before routine application of TC-based cell therapy in human subjects. These include the standardization of protocols for isolation, cultivation, and transplantation, quantitative optimization of TC transplants, cost-effectivity analysis, and many others.
Highlights
Ischemic heart disease is at the top tier of unflattering global health statistics
The researchers had long thought that the limited intrinsic regenerative capacity of the human myocardium is a hurdle, which is hard to overcome; heart transplantation in patients with heart failure would be the most viable prospect for a long time
TCs produce exosomes containing miRNA-21-5p, which can inhibit apoptosis in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells. It is essential in the process of angiogenesis, which is necessary for favorable regeneration after myocardial infarction
Summary
Ischemic heart disease is at the top tier of unflattering global health statistics. Despite an unparalleled achievement in diagnostic and therapeutic measures over the recent years, which have caused a decline in mortality, it is the leading cause of death around the globe, . These papers have covered almost all the aspects of TCs, including their physiological functions, molecular characteristics, and role in the pathogenesis of countless diseases in virtually all organs of the human body and many different animal species [9,10,11] They have been described in the pancreas [12], liver [13], uterus [14], ovaries [15], uterine tubes [16], skin [17], kidney [18], eye [19], lungs [20], gallbladder [21], gut [22,23,24], and urinary bladder [25], as well as in surprising locations such as the teat of a cow [26], and lastly, yet importantly in the heart [27,28,29], with cardiac. There are no studies on TCs inside the epicardial adipose tissue, which could elucidate their roles in normal and pathological processes occurring in this clinically significant type of white adipose tissue
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