We use stem cell–derived heart muscle cells to build 3D engineered heart tissues and apply phosphoproteomics to uncover the molecular instructions that control their ability to divide. By mapping these signals, we aim to understand how to restart the heart’s regenerative capacity after injury.
Impact
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, with heart attacks causing permanent loss of muscle cells. Because adult cardiomyocytes are considered non-dividing, the heart lacks the ability to regenerate.This research uncovers a molecular signal that reactivates their proliferative potential—echoing T.S. Eliot’s words, “in the darkness shall be the light”— opening new paths to repair damaged heart tissue.
reNEW research
I’m a final-year PhD student in the Heart Regeneration and Disease group at reNEW Melbourne. This image captures the outcome of three years of work using phosphoproteomics to untangle the molecular pathways that control heart cell division.
Image description
Human engineered 3D heart tissue was used to test a specific phosphosite mutation that activates a key signaling checkpoint. Proliferating cardiomyocyte nuclei appear in gold, dormant nuclei in indigo-violet, and heart muscle cells in cyan—capturing a rare moment where human heart cells starts to divide again.
Credits
Dr Yulia Mitina, PhD student, Hayley Pointer, Research Assistant, Porrello and Elliott Lab, reNEW Melbourne.
