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New cell that can heal hearts discovered
| Heart doctors had never before explored the possibility that cells just outside the heart could participate in healing and repair of hearts after injury, researchers said. |
| Researchers have discovered a previously unidentified cell population which could lead to new treatments for patients with injured hearts. |
| The cell, described in the journal Immunity, was discovered in the pericardial fluid found in the sac around the heart of a mouse with heart injury. |
| The researchers found that a specific cell, a Gata6+ pericardial cavity macrophage, helps heal an injured heart in mice. |
| The same cells were also found within the human pericardium of people with injured hearts, confirming that the repair cells offer the promise of a new therapy for patients with heart disease. |