Heart regeneration, stem cells, and cytokines

The human heart has limited regenerative capacity, which makes the reparative response after the cardiac infarction quite challenging. During the last decade, stem cells have become promising candidates for heart repair, owing to their potent differentiation capacity and paracrine cytokine secretion. Among the different types of stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells have high proliferative potential and secrete numerous cytokines, growth factors, and microRNAs. The paracrine cytokines play important roles in cardiac regeneration, neovascularization, anti-apoptosis, and anti-remodeling mechanisms, among others. This review summarizes the cytokines secreted by stem cells and their relative signaling pathways, which represent key mechanisms for heart regeneration and may serve as a promising future therapeutic strategy for myocardial infarction patients.