Scraps Left from Heart Surgery Grow into New Heart
Muscle Cells
Good news for treatment, scientific research and
testing of potentially new drugs
April
23, 2008 - Stem cells derived from material left over from open heart
surgeries have been used to grow large numbers of stem cells and create
new heart muscle cells. The Dutch researchers say it is a "breakthrough"
in stem cell research - previously it was necessary to use embryonic
stem cells to make this happen. It also means stem cell research is
advancing rapidly and may prove useful to today's senior citizens in
fighting a variety of diseases.
The findings by scientist at University Medical
Center Utrecht and the Hubrecht Institute are published in the latest
issue of the journal Stem Cell Research.
Scientists have known that the heart is a source of
stem cells. Although in the past researchers have succeeded in using
these cells to make heart muscle cells, this always required the
presence of heart muscle cells from newborn mice or rats in the growth
medium.
The stem cells discovered by the UMC Utrecht
researchers are able to develop on their own.
Heart muscle cells can also be made from embryonic
stem cells. The disadvantage of this method is that the yield is low,
because not all cells develop into muscle cells. Also, the ethical
considerations of isolating stem cells from embryos are the subject of
controversy.
Researchers at UMC Utrecht used a simple method to
isolate the stem cells from this material and reproduce them in the
laboratory, which they then allowed to develop. The cells grew into
fully developed heart muscle cells that contract rhythmically, respond
to electrical activity, and react to adrenaline.
Weve got complete control of this process, and
thats unique, says principal investigator Prof. Pieter Doevendans.
Were able to make heart muscle cells in unprecedented quantities, and
on top of it theyre all the same. This is good news in terms of
treatment, as well as for scientific research and testing of potentially
new drugs.
Doevendans will use the cultured heart muscle cells
to study things like cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythms).
Stem cells from the hearts of patients with genetic
heart defects can be grown into heart muscle cells in the lab.
Researchers can then immediately study the cells responsible for the
condition. They can also be used to test new medicines. This could mean
that research into genetic heart conditions can move forward at a much
faster pace.
In the future, new heart muscle cells can likely be
used to repair heart tissue damaged during a heart attack.
April
23, 2008 - Stem cells derived from material left over from open heart
surgeries have been used to grow large numbers of stem cells and create
new heart muscle cells. The Dutch researchers say it is a "breakthrough"
in stem cell research - previously it was necessary to use embryonic
stem cells to make this happen. It also means stem cell research is
advancing rapidly and may prove useful to today's senior citizens in
fighting a variety of diseases.
March
31, 2008