Murine Models Demonstrate Distinct Vasculogenic and Cardiomyogenic cKit+ Lineages in the Heart

Abstract

After 2 recent genetic studies in mice addressing the developmental origins1 and regenerative activity of cardiac cKit+ cells,2 2 additional reports by Sultana et al3 and Liu et al4 provide further information on the expression of cKit in the embryonic and adult hearts. Here, we synthesize the findings from the 4 distinct cKit models to gain insights into the biology of this important cell type.