ScienceDaily (Apr. 1, 2012) The latest research developments to reprogram scar tissue resulting from myocardial infarction (MI) into viable heart muscle cells, were presented at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2012 meeting, held 30 March to 1 April at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College in London.
In a keynote lecture Dr Deepak Srivastava outlined his approach that has been described as a "game changer" with the potential to revolutionise treatment of MI. For the first time at the FCVB meeting, Srivastava presented the results of his latest studies using viral vectors to deliver genes directly into the hearts of adult mice that had experienced an MI. The FCVB meeting was organised by the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science (CBCS) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
In his original "proof of principle" study, published August 2010 in Cell, Srivastava was able to show that all that was needed for the direct reprogramming of fibroblasts (a major component of scar tissue) into myocytes (heart muscle cells responsible for beating) was the delivery of three genes.
The work , which took place in a Petri dish, was considered groundbreaking since it showed for the first time that unrelated adult cells could be reprogrammed from one cell type to another without having to go all the way back to a stem cell state.
"Our ultimate hope is that, during the acute period following MI, patients will be able to receive direct injections of factors that transform the existing fibroblast cells in the "scar" into new myocytes. The resulting increase in muscle mass should help MI survivors to live more normal lives," explained Srivastava, who is director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in San Francisco, US.
Healthy heart tissue is composed of a mixture of several kinds of cells, including cardiomyocytes, which provide beating muscle, and cardiac fibroblasts, that provide architectural support to the myocytes. "When heart muscle cells become injured and die following an MI, patients have the major problem that these cells have little or no capacity for regeneration," explained Srivastava. Part of the process of remodelling that occurs following the injury is that fibroblast cells migrate to the site and create the scar.
"The process at first can be considered beneficial since without fibroblasts adding structural support damaged hearts would rupture. But later difficulties arise when the fibrotic scar doesn't contract like the muscle it has replaced. Reduced global contractility means the heart has to work much harder, and the extra stress can ultimately lead to heart failure and even death," said Srivastava.
One of the Holy Grails of cardiovascular research has been to replace these lost myocytes and return functionality to the heart. Some of the first approaches to be investigated were the introduction of stem or progenitor cells to the sites of injury.
"But many hurdles have been encountered including getting cells to integrate with neighbouring cells in the heart, and there have been concerns that residual "rogue" cells could persist with the potential to keep dividing and give rise to tumours," said Srivastava. "Harnessing the vast reservoir of fibroblasts already present in the heart, we felt, could overcome many of these issues. They've the big advantage they're already present in the organ and closely integrated with neighbouring cells."
In the address Srivastava, a paediatric cardiologist, explained how he had first got ahead of the game by "leveraging" knowledge from his work in embryo hearts. Over the past 15 years the focus of Srivastava's lab has been to identify genetic factors responsible for the formation of embryonic hearts.
Link:
Transforming scar tissue into beating hearts: The next instalment
- Breast Cancer Is Most Common Cancer In India, 1.38 Million Cases Diagnosed Annually. Know Estimated Incidence By 2030 - ABP Live - November 26th, 2023
- What Is Amyloidosis? All About The Rare Disease That Pervez Musharraf Suffered From - ABP Live - February 8th, 2023
- Autophagic death of neural stem cells mediates chronic stress-induced ... - November 7th, 2022
- Programmed cell death - Wikipedia - November 7th, 2022
- Hematopoietic Stem Cells | Hematopoiesis | Properties & Functions - September 4th, 2022
- Canadian Blood Services Stem Cells for Life - September 4th, 2022
- Devastation over death of schoolgirl, 11, who hoped she was beating cancer - Leicestershire Live - September 4th, 2022
- From optimized stem cell transplants to CAR T cell therapy: Advancing options for cancer, HIV and more - City of Hope - September 4th, 2022
- Scientists unlock the key to immortality in jellyfish - Syfy - September 4th, 2022
- Forge Biologics Reports Positive Clinical Data on Brain Development and Motor Function from the RESKUE Novel Phase 1/2 Gene Therapy Trial in Patients... - September 4th, 2022
- Menin Inhibitors Have Potential to Become the Next Class of Targeted Therapy in AML - Targeted Oncology - September 4th, 2022
- Wanted murder suspect John Belfield believed to still be in the UK as two more arrested over death of Thomas Campbell - The Manc - September 4th, 2022
- Next-day manufacture of a novel anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: first-in-human clinical study | Blood Cancer Journal... - July 8th, 2022
- Can minds persist when they are cut off from the world? - Livescience.com - July 8th, 2022
- Black Adolescent Young Adults With AML Have Worse Outcomes Vs White Population - Cancer Network - July 8th, 2022
- Akari Therapeutics Announces First Patient to Complete Course of Treatment in the Phase III Part A Clinical Trial of Investigational Nomacopan in... - July 8th, 2022
- How abortion ruling could affect IVF and embryonic research - The Almanac Online - July 8th, 2022
- This Morning viewers 'in tears' after boy meets donor who saved his life - Devon Live - July 8th, 2022
- Alpena detective: 'Good people out there' | News, Sports, Jobs - Alpena News - July 8th, 2022
- 'I miss my best friend': Five-year-old runs 10k to honour girl who died from rare brain tumour - Teesside Live - July 8th, 2022
- Humanigen Announces Peer-Reviewed Publication in Thorax Supporting Early Treatment of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients with Lenzilumab Guided by... - July 8th, 2022
- Novartis AG, AstraZeneca Plc, and Pfizer Inc Among Leading Companies in the Thyroid Cancer Pipeline Products Market | Globaldata Plc - Yahoo Finance - July 8th, 2022
- A New Strategy Could Turn the Tide in Stem Cell GVHD - Medical Device and Diagnostics Industry - January 17th, 2022
- Vertex type 1 diabetes vs stem cell therapy - The Boar - January 17th, 2022
- Two-Year OS Doubles for Patients With Philadelphia-Positive Relapsed ALL After HSCT - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - January 17th, 2022
- Nowakowski Considers CD19 Therapy in Transplant-Ineligible DLBCL - Targeted Oncology - January 17th, 2022
- Psaki demolishes Doocy with stats as he tries to claim covid now an illness of the vaccinated - newsconcerns - January 17th, 2022
- Doctors and Researchers Probe How COVID-19 Attacks the Heart - The Scientist - January 17th, 2022
- Who does donated blood that's direly needed help? - WTOP - January 17th, 2022
- Places Where Omicron is Most Contagious Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That - January 17th, 2022
- UHN and U of T receive $24-million federal grant for transplant research - News@UofT - January 17th, 2022
- Glycyrrhizic acid ameliorates submandibular gland oxidative stress, autophagy and vascular dysfunction in rat model of type 1 diabetes | Scientific... - January 17th, 2022
- Stem cells in cancer therapy: opportunities and challenges - January 1st, 2022
- Life After Brain Death: Is the Body Still 'Alive'? | Live ... - January 1st, 2022
- Autologous Adult Stem Cells in the Treatment of Stroke | SCCAA - Dove Medical Press - January 1st, 2022
- Stem Cell Mimicking Nanoencapsulation for Targeting Arthrit | IJN - Dove Medical Press - January 1st, 2022
- Cellular Therapies Fill Unmet Needs in R/R Multiple Myeloma - Targeted Oncology - January 1st, 2022
- Upregulated expression of actin-like 6A is a risk factor | CMAR - Dove Medical Press - January 1st, 2022
- COVID-19 Takes a Toll on People with Blood Cancers and Disorders - Cancer Health Treatment News - January 1st, 2022
- Mental health disorders and heart diseases - Rising Kashmir - January 1st, 2022
- Research breakthrough could mean better treatment for patients with most deadly form of brain tumor - EurekAlert - October 26th, 2021
- European Commission Approves Merck's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Plus Chemotherapy as Treatment for Certain Patients With Locally Recurrent Unresectable... - October 26th, 2021
- European Commission Selects Humanigen's Lenzilumab as One of the 10 Most Promising Treatments for COVID-19 - Galveston County Daily News - October 26th, 2021
- Everything You Need To Know About COVID Booster Shots - Colorado Times Recorder - October 26th, 2021
- Stem cells and their role in lung transplant rejection - Michigan Medicine - October 5th, 2021
- Losing Your Hair? You Might Blame the Great Stem Cell Escape. - The New York Times - October 5th, 2021
- Will humans ever be immortal? - Livescience.com - October 5th, 2021
- Healthcare Researchers Are Putting HUMAN Immune Systems In Pigs To Study Illnesses-Here's The Tech Behind It - Tech Times - October 5th, 2021
- Why Bezos, Musk, Page and other billionaires want to live forever - New York Post - October 5th, 2021
- Faster healing of wounds can decrease pain and suffering and save lives - ABC 12 News - October 5th, 2021
- U.S. FDA Approves Kite's Tecartus as the First and Only Car T for Adults With Relapsed or Refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - Business... - October 5th, 2021
- Skeletons' broken clavicles tell a centuries-old tale of humans and horses - Massive Science - October 5th, 2021
- Environmental Factor - August 2021: Extramural Papers of the Month - Environmental Factor Newsletter - August 4th, 2021
- Role of traumatic brain injury in the development of glioma | JIR - Dove Medical Press - August 4th, 2021
- Targeted Therapeutics Market: Increase in Incidence of Cancer to Drive Global Market - BioSpace - August 4th, 2021
- Accumulation of Regulatory T Cells in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Ca | CMAR - Dove Medical Press - August 4th, 2021
- Novel CAR-T Cell Therapy Produces Early and Deep Responses in Certain Patients with Multiple Myeloma - Curetoday.com - June 7th, 2021
- Autophagy suppresses the formation of hepatocyte-derived cancer-initiating ductular progenitor cells in the liver - Science Advances - June 7th, 2021
- Cancer research: New advances and innovations - Medical News Today - June 7th, 2021
- Fulvestrant Alone Found to be Superior to Venetoclax/Fulvestrant Combo in ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer - Targeted Oncology - June 7th, 2021
- Merck's KEYTRUDA Given After Surgery Reduced the Risk of Disease Recurrence or Death by 32% Versus Placebo as Adjuvant Therapy in Patients With Renal... - June 7th, 2021
- Stem cell study illuminates the cause of an inherited heart disorder | Penn Today - Penn Today - February 14th, 2021
- The race to treat a rare, fatal syndrome may help others with common disorders like diabetes - Science Magazine - February 14th, 2021
- Jasper Therapeutics Announces Positive Data from Phase 1 Clinical Trial of JSP191 as Targeted Stem Cell Conditioning Agent in Patients with... - February 14th, 2021
- The Very First Signs of an Immune Response Have Been Filmed in a Developing Embryo - ScienceAlert - February 14th, 2021
- Arlo's Army needs stem cell donor as mum begs for help to save three-year-old's life - Glasgow Live - February 14th, 2021
- Astellas and Seagen Announce Phase 3 Trial Results Demonstrating Survival Advantage of PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) in Patients with Previously... - February 14th, 2021
- [Full text] Successful Use of Nivolumab in a Patient with Head and Neck Cancer Aft | OTT - Dove Medical Press - February 14th, 2021
- The drug treatments offering the best hope of a way out of the Covid crisis - Telegraph.co.uk - February 14th, 2021
- In the war against Covid, an arsenal of drugs is on the way - Telegraph.co.uk - February 14th, 2021
- Kat Wests husband, Jeff West, sentenced to 16 years in wifes death - AL.com - February 9th, 2021
- Harnessing the Potential of Cell and Gene Therapy - OncLive - February 9th, 2021
- I Survived Cancer, and Then I Needed to Remember How to Live - The Atlantic - February 9th, 2021
- [Full text] Higher Red Blood Cell Distribution Width is a Poor Prognostic Factor f | CMAR - Dove Medical Press - February 9th, 2021
- West Belfast woman to be remembered in special TV documentary - Belfast Live - January 29th, 2021
- UTV documentary tells of young Belfast woman's lasting legacy to promote stem cell donation - The Irish News - January 29th, 2021
- L-MIND Trial Results Show CD19 Antibody Is Reasonable in R/R DLBCL - Targeted Oncology - January 29th, 2021
- Vertex Announces FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for VX-880, a Novel Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes... - January 29th, 2021
- If I Have Cancer, Dementia or MS, Should I Get the Covid Vaccine? - Kaiser Health News - January 29th, 2021
- Experimental taphonomy of organelles and the fossil record of early eukaryote evolution - Science Advances - January 29th, 2021