The Role of Cdk1 in the Regulation of Cardiomyocyte Proliferation in the Early Postnatal and Adult Period

Adult mammalian cardiomyocytes (CM) are postmitotic cells that lose their proliferate capacity shortly after birth. This is problematic specially when the heart is subjected to an insult resulting in CM loss. Thus, understanding factors that regulate CM proliferation needed for repair is of great clinical importance. There is differential expression of Cdk1 gene, a cell cycle regulator that initiates cytokinesis throughout the early post-natal period. We hypothesized that the loss of Cdk1 would result in perturbation in cell cycle progression. The loss of Cdk1 in the murine heart, results in prolonged CM proliferation with concomitant alterations in the expression of cell cycle activators and inhibitors as determined by mRNA profiling and Western blot analysis. These results provide novel data on the molecular mechanisms that govern the switch of CM from a proliferative to quiescent state.M.Sc