Lab-grown heart cells for the first time transplanted patient

Researchers from Osaka University for the first time in the world transplanted a patient’s heart muscle cells created in the laboratory from induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC).

Recall that IPSC have incredible potential. They can be obtained from cells of different tissues using reprogramming techniques of genetic engineering.

From the body of the patient is necessary to distinguish Mature cells to return to their embryonic state and then to stimulate differentiation in a cell type required for treatment of a disease. The obtained cells will be introduced to the appropriate authority.

Professor Yoshiki Sawa (Yoshiki Sawa), together with colleagues developed a method for the cultivation of the IPSC cardiac muscle cells (cardiomyocytes).

About a hundred million of such cells are Packed into a thin layer with a width of four to five centimeters and a thickness of 0.1 mm.

After implantation, the surface of the biodegradable heart patch release growth factors that stimulate the formation of healthy blood vessels and improve heart function.

Earlier the method was tested on pigs, and its effectiveness was confirmed. Now it is the turn of clinical trials.

the surgeons said that the first operation was performed the patient in early 2020. It will follow about a year.

the Researchers is to evaluate not only efficacy, but also potential risks. It is including about the likelihood of cancer, because of the hundreds of millions some of the transplanted cells can turn into tumor.

within three years, experts plan to conduct the same operation, a further nine patients suffering from heart failure caused by ischemic cardiomyopathy (is a condition where the heart muscle is severely weakened due to a heart attack or coronary artery disease).

Professor Yoshiki Sawa hopes that in the near future new methods will become more accessNoah alternative to heart transplant and will help save many patients.

by the Way, before “News.Science” told about the world’s first heart, printed from human cells, and how the injection of new heart cells will help recover after a heart attack.

Text: To.Science