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A combination of cardiac cells derived from human stem cells could be the answer to the development of an essential treatment for heart failure, according to a new study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in Nature Biotechnology.
The researchers found that by grafting an area of damaged tissue with a combination of heart muscle cells and supporting cells taken from the outer layer of the heart wall, they could possibly help the organs to recover from damage caused by a heart attack. .
Scientists have been trying to use stem cells to repair damaged hearts for a number of years. Efforts have been unsuccessful so far, mainly because the vast majority of transplanted cells die within a few days.
Today, Dr. Sanjay Sinha and his team at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Washington, have used complementary epicardial cells developed from human stem cells to help grafted heart cells live longer.
Researchers used laboratory-developed 3D human heart tissue from human stem cells to test the cell combination, concluding that the epicardial cells of support helped the heart muscle cells to grow and mature. They also improved the ability of heart muscle cells to contract and relax.
In heart-damaged rats, the combination also allowed grafted cells to survive and restore heart muscle cells and lost blood vessels.
The researchers now hope to understand how epicardial cells of support contribute to cardiac regeneration. Understanding these key details will bring them a little closer to the test of cardiac regenerative therapies in clinical trials.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK live with debilitating heart failure, often as a result of a heart attack. During a heart attack, part of the heart is deprived of oxygen, resulting in death of the heart muscle. This permanent loss of heart muscle and the resulting scars combine to reduce the heart's ability to pump blood throughout the body.
People with heart failure can not regenerate their damaged hearts and the only cure is a heart transplant. In the end, these researchers hope that by harnessing the regenerative power of stem cells, they will one day be able to cure the hearts of human beings by using a patient's own cells.
In addition to BHF, this research was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Dr. Sanjay Sinha, a BHF-funded researcher and head of research at the University of Cambridge, said:
Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK are living with heart failure – many are in a race against the clock for a life-saving heart transplant. But with only about 200 heart transplants performed each year in the UK, it is absolutely essential that we start finding alternative treatments. "
Johannes Bargehr, first author of the study at the University of Cambridge, said:
Our research shows the enormous potential of stem cells for a day, becoming the first treatment for heart failure. Although we still have some way to go, we think we are getting closer to a giant step, and it is incredibly exciting. "
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, who partly funded the research, said:
Despite advances in medical treatments, survival rates for heart failure remain poor and life expectancy is worse than for many cancers. Progress is absolutely necessary to mitigate the ravages caused by this terrible condition.
When it comes to repairing broken hearts, stem cells have not kept their promises. We hope that these latest researches represent a turning point in the use of these remarkable cells. "
BHF has invested millions of pounds in research to harness the power of stem cells in the treatment of heart and circulatory diseases. The charity funded three regenerative medicine centers across the UK, housing some of the world's leading experts.
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