Japanese Circulation Society

Keynote Lecture: Cell Cycle Regulation and Myocardial Regeneration?
Harold S. Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D.

Figure 1. Schematic of mitogenic regulation. The cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) complex is the primary driver of this cell cycle. Transcription is activated by CDK4 and CDK6, which turn on the early response genes essential for cell-cycle progression. In the myocyte, the transcription activator MyoD upregulates the CDK inhibitor p21, which causes the inhibition of CDK4 and cyclin D complex (CLND), thus causing the cell cycle withdrawal necessary for myocyte differentiation. (Harold Bernstein April 2000)