The mouse atrioventricular (AV) node. Green staining indicates AV node cells, while red staining highlights neighboring atrial muscle cells. All cell nuclei are stained blue. Specialized cells that propagate heartbeats have the capacity to regenerate after birth, study by UT Southwestern scientists shows. Specialized cells that conduct electricity to keep the heart beating have a previously unrecognized ability to regenerate in the days after birth, a new study in mice by UT Southwestern researchers suggests. The finding, published online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could eventually lead to treatments for heart rhythm disorders that avoid the need for invasive pacemakers or drugs by instead encouraging the heart to heal itself. Nikhil V. Munshi, M.D., Ph.D. “Patients with arrhythmias don’t have a lot of great options,” said study leader Nikhil V. Munshi, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Molecular Biology, and in the Eugene McDermot...