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Depleted heart tissue regenerates itself in a wave in zebrafish led by a front of fast-moving, supersized cells and trailed by smaller cells that multiply to produce others. The nature of this wavefront and the success of the tissue regeneration that follows is determined by mechanical tension that acts upon the cells.

Manipulating the mechanical tension of the cells may develop new translational approaches. Human heart can not fully heal itself after a heart attack but the zebrafish heart can easily replace cells lost to damage or disease.

The researchers measured a number of properties of the cells in the regenerative wavefront. They discovered that the bigger leader cells migrated across the surface of the heart at higher speeds than the smaller follower cells.

When they measured the levels of tension experienced by the cells, they found that leader cells recoiled faster than follower cells when tiny incisions were applied, much like the surface of an inflated balloon retracts after bursting. The mechanical tension seems to keep the cells from dividing after DNA replication.

The researchers plan to use the zebrafish heart explant culture system to screen for small molecules that could potentially increase the regenerative capacity of heart tissues. Such chemicals could form the basis for new drugs to repair the damage caused by a heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases.
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