Scientists have identified rare stem cells in the hearts of newborns, which could be used to treat babies with cardiac problems. The cells form heart muscle in the developing foetus. But the University of California study, published in Nature, showed some of the cardiac progenitor cells were still present in babies’ hearts after birth. They proved the cells could form working heart tissue which could be used as a treatment. The researchers suggest that the subset of isl1+ cells are left over after the development of the foetal heart to oversee the formation of a mature heart in newborn babies, who are no longer relying on their mother’s circulation and oxygen supply. The cells are located in a region of the heart called the atrium. They are also present in the hearts of newborn rats and mice.
