SUMMARY
The identification of cardiac progenitor cells in mammals raises the possibility that the human heart contains a population of stem cells capable of generating cardiomyocytes and coronary vessels. Several recent studies now show that the different cell types that characterize the adult human heart arise from a common ancestor. Human cardiac stem cells differentiate into cardiomyocytes, and, in lesser extent, into smooth muscle and endothelial cells. The characterization of human cardiac stem cells (CSCs) has important clinical implications. In recent years, CD117 (c-kit) has been reported to mark a subtype of stem/progenitor cells in the human heart, with stem cell-like properties, including the ability to self-renewal and clonogenicity multipotentiality.