Prolonged Myocardial Regenerative Capacity in Neonatal Opossum

Abstract

The marsupial opossum maintains cardiomyocyte proliferation and a capacity for myocardial regeneration for at least 2 weeks after birth. As far as we are aware, this is the longest postnatal duration of such a capacity among mammals examined to date. AMPK signaling was implicated as an evolutionarily conserved regulator of mammalian postnatal cardiomyocyte proliferation.