New cell therapy approach to regenerate cardiac tissue following a heart attack
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and AstraZeneca, have identified a unique therapeutic approach with the potential to restore heart function following a heart attack.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and AstraZeneca, have identified a unique therapeutic approach with the potential to restore heart function following a heart attack. The new findings rely on so-called human ventricular progenitor (HVP) cells to promote novel heart tissue and reduce scarring after injury.
This is the culmination of two decades of our work to find the ideal cell to rebuild the heart, and provides new hope for the millions of patients worldwide with end-stage heart failure waiting for a heart transplant,” says co-author Kenneth Chien, Professor at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet.
During a heart attack, up to 1 billion heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) may die as a result of reduced blood supply. These damaged cells are replaced by fibrotic scar tissue, which causes further deterioration of heart function.
Unlike during fetal development, the regenerative capacity of the human heart in adulthood is markedly low. Previous studies have partly focused on mature cardiomyocytes, but side effects such as life threatening arrhythmia have so far blocked their clinical utility.
In this study, the researchers examined another type of cell called human ventricular (muscle) progenitor cells, which are precursor to heart muscle cells and play a crucial role in the formation of the heart during fetal development. After cultivating and purifying billions of these heart precursor cells from human embryonic stem cells, the researchers first studied the complex molecular processes of heart repair in heart tissue slices and then assessed the therapeutic potential of HVPs in pigs.
The researchers also noted a significant improvement in heart function in pigs injected with HVP cells following injury compared to an untreated control group. No tumour formation was detected during the three-month follow-up period, which is encouraging for any future clinical trials.
https://news.ki.se/new-cell-therapy-approach-to-regenerate-cardiac-tissue-following-a-heart-attack
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