How to mend the heart?
A sick heart will be "patched up" with stem cellsThe new technology of applying stem cells to microfibers made of biopolymer will allow to "mend" damage to various organs, including the heart.
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, working under the leadership of Glenn Gaudette, are developing methods of cell therapy for various heart diseases, while paying special attention to mesenchymal stem cells of the bone marrow. Several groups of researchers have demonstrated that the introduction of these cells, capable of giving rise to cells of various tissues, into areas of damage to the heart muscle improves heart function. However, the maximum number of cells that take root when they are introduced into the bloodstream or directly into the heart muscle is no more than 15%.
To solve this problem, the authors proposed using biopolymer fibers with a human hair thickness. Fibers made from fibrin (a protein involved in the formation of blood clots) can have different strength and different dissolution rates in the body environment, which provides a wide range of their possible use in medicine.
Stem cells deposited on a microfibre.
Dividing cells are colored green.
A snapshot from the WPI press release
A 'Stitch in Time' Could Help Damaged HeartsScientists applied human mesenchymal stem cells to small bundles of such fibers and cultured them for 5 days.
As a result, the actively dividing cells were almost completely covered with 2-centimeter fibers, which were attached to a surgical needle and passed through a collagen gel that mimics human myocardial tissue. At the same time, most of the cells remained on the fibers and did not lose their viability and ability to differentiate into different types of cells.
Currently, the authors are testing their development on rats. The purpose of this stage of work is to prove the possibility of improving the functions of the heart muscle by introducing fibers seeded with stem cells that break down in the body.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of CNews R&D
14.12.2010