Oxytocin, called the “love hormone,” helps heal the organ by boosting production of stem cells, researchers at Michigan State University say.

“Here we show that oxytocin, a neuropeptide also known as the love hormone, is capable of activating heart repair mechanisms in injured hearts in zebrafish and human cell cultures, opening the door to potential new therapies for heart regeneration in humans,” says senior author Dr.

Now, the research team reports it also causes stem cells from the heart’s outer layer, or epicardium, to migrate into the middle, known as the myocardium. There they develop into cardiomyocytes, muscle cells that generate heart contractions.

The discovery offers hope of promoting regeneration after damaging events like a heart attack.

The cells die off in great numbers after a heart attack.

However, previous studies have shown that a subset called EpiPCs (Epicardium-derived Progenitor Cells) can undergo reprogramming, becoming cardiomyocytes or other types of heart cells. “Think of the EpiPCs as the stonemasons that repaired cathedrals in Europe in the Middle Ages,” Aguirre explains.

Production is inefficient for heart regeneration in humans under natural conditions, but the humble zebrafish may hold the key.

It turned human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hIPSCs) into EpiPCs.

On the other hand, genetic engineering that knocked out the oxytocin receptor prevented the regenerative activation of human EpiPCs.

The link between oxytocin and the stimulation of EpiPCs was identified in a chemical pathway known to regulate the growth, differentiation and migration of cells.

“These results show that it is likely that the stimulation by oxytocin of EpiPC production is evolutionary conserved in humans to a significant extent.