Stem cell therapy restores damaged heart tissue
Researchers are developing stem cell-based regenerative therapies to treat heart failure. Preclinical trials have confirmed the efficacy of the treatment.Researchers from the National University of Singapore Medical School (Duke-NUS) used stem cell therapy to treat heart failure. Transplanting progenitor cells into damaged pig heart muscle led to tissue repair and improved heart function.
Researchers cultured pluripotent stem cells in the lab to turn them into cardiac muscle progenitor cells, which can develop into different types of heart cells.
To properly differentiate the cells, scientists used a method to obtain the cells using lamins, proteins that play an important role in the interaction of the cells with their surrounding structures. They exist in different forms depending on the environment and play a key role in guiding the development of specific tissue cell types. Scientists used lamins found in the heart.
Scientists injected laboratory-grown progenitor cells into an area of the heart damaged by a myocardial infarction. Once transplanted, they formed new muscle cells, repairing damaged tissue and improving heart function.
Previous studies by other groups of scientists had suggested using already-beating heart muscle cells for transplantation. However, analysis showed that this led to serious side effects - ventricular arrhythmia.
Researchers in Singapore transplanted cells that had not yet contracted. After transplantation, they proliferated and acquired a normal heart rhythm. At the same time, the arrhythmia was halved, and when it did occur, it "corrected" on its own in less than a month.
Coronary heart disease is one of the most common causes of death. When blood flow to the heart is blocked, cells begin to die, causing myocardial infarction. Researchers believe the new treatment technology, once proven effective in clinical trials, will help restore heart function and prevent life-threatening consequences.