Zebrafish heart regeneration as a model for cardiac tissue repair

Heart disease remains a leading cause of mortality throughout the world. Mammals have an extremely limited capacity to repair lost or damaged heart tissue, thus encouraging biologists to seek out models for heart regeneration. The robust capacity of zebrafish to regenerate a variety of tissues position it as an ideal genetic model system for understanding the molecular and cellular events governing regeneration. Future studies will utilize functional approaches to tease apart zebrafish heart regeneration in the hope of unlocking our own regenerative potential.

Section editors:Rahul Kakkar and Richard T. Lee – Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge, MA, USA