Newly identified cells in human heart could be therapeutic targets

Researchers recently discovered that the human heart contains distinct subsets of white blood cells called macrophages, which have different functional properties. From a clinical perspective, the abundance of specific macrophages expressing a protein called CCR2 was associated with the inability of the left ventricle to contract normally in heart failure patients. The findings provide evidence that macrophage heterogeneity is functionally important in the human heart and suggest that therapeutics targeting CCR2-expressing macrophages may represent a novel therapeutic target for patients with heart failure. The study, which was partly funded by NHLBI, was published in Nature Medicine.