The Pediatric Institute for Heart Regeneration and Therapeutics (I-HRT) is a research institute within the Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, directed by Bernhard Kühn, MD. This institute seeks to improve health by repairing hearts through guided regeneration. The institute strives to develop a scientific basis for heart regeneration through world-class research and training. The institute incorporates basic, translational, and clinical research. I-HRT’s goal is to translate the strategy of stimulating heart muscle cell regeneration into a therapy.

Affiliated Faculty:

Bernhard Kühn, MD

Mousumi Moulik, MD

Anita Saraf, MD

Essential Publications

Interdependent changes of nuclear lamins, nuclear pore complexes, and ploidy regulate ceulluar regeneration and stress response in the heart

Yao Li, Alberto Bertozzi, Melissa RW Mann and Bernhard Kuhn. 
Taylor & Francis Online
August 4, 2023

Changes in nuclear pore numbers control nuclear import and stress response of mouse hearts

Han L, Mich-Basso JD, Li Y, Ammanamanchi N, Xu J, Bargaje A, Liu H, Wu L, Jeong JH, Franks J, Stolz DB, Wu YL, Rajasundaram D, Liu Y, Kühn B
Developmental Cell
2022 Oct 24

Design and rationale of a clinical trial to increase cardiomyocyte division in infants with tetralogy of Fallot

El Khoudary SR, Fabio A, Yester JW, Steinhauser ML, Christopher AB, Gyngard F, Adams PA, Morell VO, Viegas M, DaSilva J, Da Fonseca Da Silva L, Castro-Medina M, McCormick A, Reyes-Múgica M, BarlasM , Liu H, Thomas D, Ammanamanchi A, Sada R, Cuda M, Hartigan E, Groscost DK, Kühn B
International Journal of Cardiology
2021 Sep 15

Use of stable isotope-tagged thymidine and multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry (MIMS) for quantification of human cardiomyocyte division.

Jessie W. Yester, Honghai Liu, Frank Gyngard, Niyatie Ammanamanchi, Katherine C. Little, Dawn Thomas, Mara L.G. Sullivan, Sean Lal, Matthew L. Steinhauser, and Bernhard Kühn. Nature Protocols. Feb 24, 2021.

Cardiac Regeneration: Methods and Protocols 

(ed. Kühn B, Poss K).

Lamin B2 levels regulate polyploidization of cardiomyocyte nuclei and myocardial regeneration.  

Han L, Choudhury S, Mich-Basso JD, Ammanamanchi N, Ganapathy G, Suresh S, Khaladkar M, Singh J, Maehr R, Zuppo DA, Kim J, Eberwine JH, Wyman SK, Wu Y & Kühn B.

Dev. Cell 2020; 6;53(1):42-59. PMID: 32109383, PMCID: PMC7346764.

Alexander Y. Payumo and Guo N. Huang. (2020) Lamin B2, Guardian of Cardiomyocyte Nuclear Division. Developmental Cell.

Katherine E. Yutzey. (2020) Cytokinesis, Beta-Blockers, and Congenital Heart Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine. 

Olaf Bergmann. (2020) Cardiomyocytes in congenital heart disease: Overcoming cytokinesis failure in tetralogy of Fallot. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 

Nicholas D. Andersen, Joseph W. Turek. (2020) Commentary: Targeting cytokinesis failure in tetralogy of Fallot: Late to the dance?. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Contact

Pediatric Institute for Heart Regeneration and Therapeutics
John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center, 8th Floor
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
4401 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224

Administrative Manager: Maureen Fortunato

Administrative Coordinator: Kim Birsic
 

 

Events

The R.K. Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research Seminar, featuring Ashok Panigrahy, MD & Amr H. Sawalha, MD

June 21, 2023, 4 - 5PM

 

Mustafa Khoka, MD

Professor of Pediatrics (Critical Care Medicine, Genetics)

Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital  

October 23 - 24, 2023

 

Martina Brueckner, MD

Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) 

Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital  

November 6 - 7, 2023

 

Jonathan G. Seidman, PhD

Henrietta B. and Frederick H, Bugher Foundation 

Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School,

Cardiovascular Division of Brigham and Women’s Hospital

February 19 - 20