Stem cells used to partially repair damaged hearts

When we have developed the ability to convert various cells into stem cells, it was the promise of a brand new type of therapy. Rather than bringing the body to try to repair with its cells or manage the complications of organ transplants, we could convert a few adult cells into stem cells and induce them to form any tissue in the body. We could potentially repair or replace tissues with an effectively infinite diet of a patient’s own cells.

However, the Nobel Prize for induced stem cells was given more than a decade ago, and the therapies were slow to follow. But a group of German researchers now describes tests in primates of a heart repair method using new muscles generated from stem cells. The results are promising, otherwise not yet providing everything we could hope for. But they were sufficient to start clinical trials, and similar results are observed in humans.

Heart problems

The heart contains a lot of specialized fabrics, including those that form blood vessels or specialize in making electrical signals. But the Heart Key is a form of a specialized muscle cell, called cardiomyocyte. Once the heart matures, cardiomyocytes stop dividing, which means that you end up with a fixed population. Any damage to the heart due to an injury or an infection is not repaired, which means that damage will be cumulative.

This is particularly problematic in cases of blocked blood vessels, which can repeatedly starve large areas of the heart of oxygen and nutrients, killing cardiomyocytes. This leads to a reduction in heart function and can ultimately lead to death.

It turns out, however, that it is relatively easy to convert induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC, with multi -sided meaning, they can form any type of cell). The researchers therefore tried to inject these cardiomyocytes derived from stem cells into damaged hearts in experimental animals, in the hope that they would be incorporated into the damaged tissue. But these experiences have not always offered clear advantages to animals.