|
Stem Cell Therapy Repairs Damaged Heart at Mayo
Clinic
Aug. 19, 2004 - Mayo Clinic researchers have
demonstrated that stem cell therapy repairs damaged heart tissue and
aids recovery in rats after heart attack.
Most conventional therapies for myocardial
infarction -- heart attack caused by suspension of blood flow -- help
ensure damage to the heart doesnt progress or recur, but dont repair
damage already done.
Because embryonic stem cells can generate diverse
cell types in the body, including heart cells, the Mayo Clinic
researchers investigated whether transplantation of such stem cells
could repopulate heart muscle scarred by heart attack and produce a
beneficial long-term outcome.
The heart has a limited capacity for self-repair,
says Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., a specialist in cardiac biology and lead
investigator of the study. However, based on our experimental findings,
embryonic stem cells present an opportunity for reparative therapy with
stable benefit in myocardial infarction.
The Study
Mayo Clinic researchers induced myocardial infarction in rats, and then
injected rodent embryonic stem cells into the injured heart muscle. Over
time, the transplanted stem cells transformed themselves into heart
cells that integrated with the surrounding muscle and reduced the
scarring normally associated with heart attacks. Within three weeks, the
researchers saw improved heart function, particularly within the damaged
area, compared to animals that did not receive stem cell therapy. It was
a clear benefit that did not diminish over the 12 weeks of follow-up.
Furthermore, the response to stress was superior in the stem
cell-treated hearts, and there were no deaths or evidence of abnormal
heart rhythms.
Significance of Discovery
Because the advantage of embryonic stem cell delivery occurs early and
does not diminish over time, this suggests a significant therapeutic
potential of stem cells in the long-term management of cardiac disease.
By regenerating diseased myocardium and promoting cardiac repair,
embryonic stem cells provide a unique therapeutic opportunity to reduce
disability or death from heart attacks.
The details of the animal-based study appear in the
current issue of the American Journal of Physiology (http://ajpheart.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/287/2/H471).
In addition to Dr. Terzic, others involved in the
research include members of his laboratory: Denice Hodgson, M.D., Atta
Behfar, Leonid Zingman, M.D., Garvan Kane, M.D., Carmen Perez-Terzic,
M.D., Ph.D., Alexey Alekseev, Ph.D. and Michel Pucιat, Ph.D. [Stable
benefit of embryonic stem cell therapy in myocardial infarction (2004).
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 287, H471-H479.]
The research was supported by the National
Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the Marriott
Foundation, Miami Heart Research Institute, Mayo-Dubai Healthcare City
Research Project, Mayo Clinic, as well as by Association Francaise
contre les Myopathies and Fondation de France through a collaborative
effort with the French National Institute for Medical Research.
|
