Stem cells for cardiovascular repair — The challenges of the aging heart

The discovery of extracardiac progenitor cells and resident cardiac stem cells in recent years has led to a great deal of interest in the development of therapeutic strategies that target these endogenous cell sources for promotion of cardiovascular repair mechanisms in the diseased heart. Cardiovascular risk increases with age and among many factors, the age-associated decline in cardiac and vascular regenerative capacity may contribute to the progressive deterioration of cardiovascular health. Thus, understanding the mechanisms which underlie the dysregulation of cardiac stem and progenitor cells may lead to the identification of novel targets and approaches to reverse this decline. In this review, we outline the current knowledge about cardiac stem and progenitor cells, their contribution to cardiovascular regenerative processes and factors that may affect their decreased function in aging individuals. Moreover, we describe the therapeutic strategies that are currently being tested in clinical trials as well as potential new avenues of investigation for the future.