Background: Despite improvements in survival with current therapies, it is now clear that major cardiovascular event rates in patients remain high. Cardiac cell replacement therapy by using human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes has emerged as a promising future approach to regenerate functional myocardium. However, there are still many hurdles to be overcome for the clinical application of these cells.
Objective: This review describes the embryonic stem cell system, their differentiation into cardiomyocytes, and functional characterization of the cardiac lineage derivatives in culture and upon in vivo engraftment in animal models.
Results/conclusion: A better understanding of the characteristics of the cardiomyocytes from human embryonic stem cells not only predicts their behaviour after implantation but will also help in the design of future strategies for cardiac regeneration in vivo.