Cell Transplant Improves Survival After Heart Attack

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Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Stem Cell Research;  Transplants / Organ Donations
Article Date: 06 Dec 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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If a person has a heart attack and receives transplanted genetically engineered cells, his/her chances of suffering from abnormal heart rhythm (ventricular tachycardia) later are significantly reduced. Ventricular tachycardia is the most common cause of sudden death following a heart attack.

You can read about this in the latest issue of Nature.

Scientists managed to transplant skeletal muscle cells which were engineered to produce a protein that prevents ventricular tachycardia in laboratory mice.

At the moment, a heart attack patient who goes on to develop ventricular tachycardia will have a defibrillator implanted under his/her skin.

The researchers, from the University of Bonn (Germany), Cornell University (USA), and the University of Pittsburgh (USA) say this study should pave the way for further research into utilizing stem cells to treat heart attacks in human patients.

In this study, mice had been induced to have heart attacks. The scientists tested a range of cells. While skeletal muscle cells did not seem to help reduce the risk of ventricular tachycardia, heart cells taken from embryos did. The embryonic heart cells boosted the production of connexin 43, a protein which prevents ventricular tachycardia.

They managed to engineer skeletal muscle cells to produce connexin 43. These tweaked cells were just as effective as the embryonic cells in preventing the condition. The advantage of skeletal muscle cells is that they are much more plentiful than embryonic stem cells. They found that the implanted cells conducted electrical currents to heart tissue. Conducting electrical currents is crucial for the proper function of heart cells - Connexin 43 improved electrical connections to other heart cells.

The scientists found that the improved (electrical) connection helped activate the transplanted cells deep within the damaged section of the heart tissue.

According to team leader, Dr Bernd Fleischmann "The incidence of ventricular tachycardia dropped by 60%. We clearly showed these cells improved electrical stability. The nice thing about skeletal muscle is it has adult stem cells so you can take a biopsy of the thigh muscle and grow millions and millions of cells in culture." He also stressed that further studies are needed.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, and the European Commission, Bonn Forschung.

Article in Cornell University website

Written by - Christian Nordqvist
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