Lymphocytes at the heart of wound healing

Abstract

The adult mammalian heart displays negligible regenerative capacity. Therefore, myocardial infarction (MI) often results in an irreversible loss of contractile tissue, leading to a collagenous scar formation, progressive remodelling and heart failure (HF). Over the past few years, emerging evidences indicate that a myocardial ischemic injury mobilizes not only sterile unspecific inflammation but also lymphocyte-mediated immune responses to cardiac auto-antigens. In the current chapter, we depict the infarcted heart as a “wounded” tissue and focus on the dynamic events leading to myocardial repair, with special emphasis on the role played by lymphocytes in this process.