Omer N. Koç and Stanton L. Gerson are in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. onk2@cwru.edu or slg5@cwru.edu
Bone marrow−derived stem cells have been used with some success in animal models to repair ischemic damage to the heart. Overexpression of the survival-promoting signal Akt greatly enhances the ability of these cells to heal a heart after myocardial infarction (pages 1195−1201).
