Loss of cardiac muscle after cardiac injury is replaced by cardiac fibrosis, due to very limited regenerative capacity of the heart. Although initially beneficial, persistent cardiac fibrosis leads to pump failure and conduction abnormalities, common modes of death following cardiac injury. Thus, directly reprogramming cardiac fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocyte-like cells (iCMs) by forced expression of cardiogenic factors (referred to as cardiac reprogramming) is particularly attractive in that it targets cardiac fibroblasts, a major source of cardiac fibrosis, to induce new cardiac muscle. Over the last decade, remarkable progresses have been made on cardiac reprogramming, particularly focusing on how to enhance conversion of fibroblasts to iCMs in vitro. However, it still remains elusive whether this new regenerative approach can be translated into clinical practice. This review discusses progresses and challenges of cardiac reprogramming in the translational context.

由于心脏的再生能力非常有限，心脏损伤后心肌的损失被心脏纤维化所取代。虽然最初是有益的，但持续的心脏纤维化会导致泵衰竭和传导异常，这是心脏损伤后常见的死亡模式。因此，通过强制表达心源性因子（称为心脏重编程）将心脏成纤维细胞直接重编程为诱导心肌样细胞（iCM）特别有吸引力，因为它靶向心脏成纤维细胞（心脏纤维化的主要来源）诱导新的心肌. 在过去十年中，心脏重编程取得了显着进展，特别是关注如何在体外增强成纤维细胞向 iCM 的转化。然而，这种新的再生方法是否可以转化为临床实践仍然难以捉摸。本综述讨论了转化背景下心脏重编程的进展和挑战。