HGF and heart failure: It has been shown that cardiac-targeted gene transduction of pro-angiogenic/anti-inflammatory factors, such as hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1, enhances up-regulation of these factors in the myocardium to contribute to tissue salvage and/or regeneration, consequently inducing functional recovery in an array of the animal models of cardiac failure [8].