Macrophage precursor cells from the left atrial appendage of the heart spontaneously reprogram into a C-kit+/CD45- stem cell-like phenotype.

Abstract

The developmental origin of the c-kit expressing progenitor cell pool in the adult heart has remained elusive. Recently, it has been discovered that the injured heart is enriched with c-kit(+) cells, which also express the hematopoietic marker CD45.