A new method of maturing human heart cells that simulates the natural growth environment of heart cells while applying electrical pulses to mimic the heart rate of fetal humans has led researchers at the University of Toronto to an electrifying step forward for cardiac research.
The discovery, announced this week in the scientific journalĀ Nature Methods, offers cardiac researchers a fast and reliable method of creating mature human cardiac patches in a range of sizes.
“You cannot obtain human cardiomyocytes (heart cells) from human patients,” explains Milica Radisic, Canada Research Chair in Functional Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering and Associate Professor at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and the Department of Chemical Engineering. Because human heart cells — integral for studying the efficacy of cardiac drugs, for instance — do not naturally proliferate in large numbers, to date researchers have been using heart cells derived from reprogrammed human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC’s), which tend to be too immature to use effectively in research or transplantation.
“The question is: if you want to test drugs or treat adult patients, do you want to use cells and look like and function like fetal cardiomyocytes?” asks Radisic, who was named a “Top Innovator Under 35” by MIT Technology Review and more recently was awarded the Order of Ontario and the Young Engineers of Canada 2012 Achievement Award. “Can we mature these cells to become more like adult cells?”
In response to the challenge, Radisic and her team, which includes graduate student Jason Miklas and Dr. Sara Nunes, a scientist at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, created a ‘biowire’. Stem-cells derived human cardiomyocytes are seeded along a silk suture typical to medical applications. The suture allows the cells to grow along its length, close to their natural growth pattern.
Like a scene lifted from Frankenstein, the cells are then treated to cycles of electric pulses, like a mild version of a pacemaker, which have been show to stimulate the cells to increase in size, connect and beat like a real heart tissue.
But the key to successfully and rapidly maturing the cells turns out to be the way the pulses are applied.
Mimicking the conditions that occur naturally in cardiac biological development — in essence, simulating the way fetal heart rates escalates prior to birth, the team ramped up the rate at which the cells were being stimulated, from zero to 180 and 360 beats per minute.
“We found that pushing the cells to their limits over the course of a week derived the best effect,” reports Radisic.
Grown on sutures that can be sewn directly into a patient, the biowires are designed to be fully transplantable. The use of biodegradable sutures, important in surgical patches that will remain in the body, is also a viable option.
Miklas argues that the research has practical implications for health care. “With this discovery we can reduce costs on the health care system by creating more accurate drug screening.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Biowire
- Feed has no items.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Biowire
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Biowire” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Human cardiac patches
- The 32 greatest action movie characterson April 26, 2024 at 9:55 am
Bullets, bombs, and bravery - such as the things that define heroism in action cinema. But which of them actually deserve recognition as the greatest of all time? Whether they’re heroes or villains, ...
- Woman makes history with combined pig kidney transplant and heart pump implant; DETAILS insideon April 25, 2024 at 8:54 am
Lisa Pisano of New Jersey has rewritten medical history by becoming the world's first person to undergo surgery that combined a pig kidney transplant with the installation of a heart pump.
- A genetic patch corrects a rare syndrome in human brain organoid grafted into a raton April 24, 2024 at 9:51 am
The team led by Sergiu Pasca, from Stanford University, wants to test this promising strategy in children with Timothy Syndrome, which is associated with autism and epilepsy ...
- Why a Dog’s Death Hits So Hardon April 23, 2024 at 9:12 am
Loving a pet is simpler. Dogs, especially, live to please us. It is the way they have made themselves essential to our lives. Dogs don’t fight at the dinner table or have obnoxious political ...
- England’s chalk streams were millions of years in the making. Can they survive today?on April 23, 2024 at 4:00 am
There are fewer than 300 of these streams on the planet, and they’re teeming with life. But in recent years, detergents, microplastics, and other waste have taken a toll.
- ‘It Smells Like Earth’: Inside the Eco-Minded World of Human Compostingon April 22, 2024 at 7:04 am
After eons of burial and cremation being the only options, a new process is giving grieving families — and those contemplating their own death — a new path ...
- I’ve seen the future, and it’s really salty: Testing Flowbio’s new wearable hydration sensoron April 22, 2024 at 5:31 am
The sold-out sensor already has WorldTour adoption, but given time it could become as ubiquitous as the heart rate monitor ...
- Experimental Ovarian Tissue Freezing Could Delay Menopause, but Experts Are Weighing the Riskson April 22, 2024 at 5:00 am
Extracting, freezing and retransplanting slices of hormone-producing ovarian tissue could postpone menopause, but some experts say it’s not effective enough—or necessary ...
- 4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana's high holidayon April 19, 2024 at 12:02 pm
Marijuana culture's holiday, 4/20, is this coming Saturday; some college students gather in clouds of smoke to celebrate while some pot shops offer discounts.
- A surprising number of drifting sea creatures found living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patchon May 5, 2023 at 12:57 pm
Marine creatures that drift through the ocean are riding currents to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A surprising number of delicate invertebrates, called neustons, are making it home, according to a ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Human cardiac patches
[google_news title=”” keyword=”human cardiac patches” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]