More than 300,000 people suffer a heart attack in Germany every year. The heart muscle is then no longer supplied with sufficient blood and oxygen, and part of the tissue dies and scars. Unlike the liver, the heart of an adult human can hardly regenerate. However, it is capable of initiating limited repair processes. Macrophages play an important role in this process. These giant phagocytes of the innate immune system remove dead tissue and initiate the subsequent—albeit limited—self-healing process. However, the immune cells are ambivalent and can also trigger negative processes that lead to chronic heart failure (cardiac insufficiency).
This article was originally published on MedicalXpress.com
