Now stem cells can help heal broken heart i.e. to plug holes in heart
People says only time heals a broken heart, but now using embryonic stem cells and their own novel molding technique has developed a three-dimensional heart cell “patch” that conducts electrical impulses and contracts, two all important characteristics of heart tissue by Duke University researchers.
Cardiomyocytes, the heart muscle cells that keep the blood pumping, are difficult to grow effectively because left to their own devices; they will simply develop into a disorganized clump of cells. To get around this, the team coaxed embryonic stem cells to develop into cardiomyocytes by placing them in an environment much like the one in which they develop naturally. By encapsulating the cells in a gel made of fibrin, a blood-clotting protein, the researchers provided the mechanical support for the cells to form an organized, three-dimensional structure.
But the key ingredient for the researchers was helper cells called cardiac fibroblasts. These cells make up as much as 60 percent of the cells present in the heart, and when introduced to the mold they caused the cardiomyocytes to pull together as if they were growing in a developing human heart.
After being cast in the fibrin mold, the patches can be placed on the heart where the tissue is thin or compromised and injected with cells that would then generate new heart tissue.
The proof of concept is an important breakthrough for cardiac researchers who have a limited arsenal with which to battle heart disease, the leading cause of death in many developed countries. An effective non-embryonic stem cell heart patch would not only circumvent the problem of immune system reactions, but sidestep sensitive ethical land mines, clearing the way to put broken hearts on the mend.
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