Virgin birth: engineered heart muscle from parthenogenetic stem cells

Cardiac muscle restitution, or true regeneration, is an unmet need in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI), prompting a decade of study with stem cells of many kinds. Among key obstacles to effective cardiac cell grafting are the cost of autologous stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, the ethical implications of using embryonic stem cell (ESC) products, immunological barriers to allogeneic cells, functional maturation beyond just the correct lineage decision, and the lack of durable engraftment. In this issue of the JCI, Didie and colleagues show that cardiomyocytes made from parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) and deployed as engineered heart muscle (EHM) may overcome all of these formidable barriers.