Heart muscle cells grown from stem cells show promise in monkeys with a heart problem that typically results from a heart defect sometimes present at birth in humans, according to new research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Mayo Clinic. Heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans, can affect people at any time across their lifespans—even from birth, when heart conditions are known as congenital heart defects.
Regenerating tissue to support healthy heart function could keep many of those hearts beating stronger and longer, and this is where stem cell research is stepping in. A research team led by Marina Emborg, professor of medical physics in the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, and Timothy Nelson, physician scientist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, reported recently in the journal Cell Transplantation that heart muscle cells grown from induced pluripotent stem cells can integrate into the hearts of monkeys with a state of pressure overload. Also referred to as right ventricular dysfunction, pressure overload often affects children with congenital heart defects.
Patients experience chest discomfort, breathlessness, palpitations and body swelling, and can develop a weakened heart. The condition can be fatal if left untreated. Nearly all single ventricle congenital heart defects, particularly those in the right ventricle, eventually lead to heart failure.
Surgery to correct the defect is a temporary solution, according to the res.