Distinct macrophage lineages contribute to disparate patterns of cardiac recovery and remodeling in the neonatal and adult heart

The mechanistic basis for why inflammation is simultaneously both deleterious and essential for tissue repair is not fully understood. Recently, a new paradigm has emerged: Organs are replete with resident macrophages of embryonic origin distinct from monocyte-derived macrophages. This added complexity raises the question of whether distinct immune cells drive inflammatory and reparative activities after injury. Previous work has demonstrated that the neonatal heart has a remarkable capacity for tissue repair compared with the adult heart, offering an ideal context to examine these concepts. We hypothesized that unrecognized differences in macrophage composition is a key determinant of cardiac tissue repair.…

• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: T32 HL007081, HL105732, K08 HL123519