In a report published in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology, scientists have successfully created human heart muscle cells from embryonic stem cells which have been successfully implanted into an animal model of heart attack. The findings suggest that stem-cell-based treatments might one day help people suffering from heart disease, the leading cause of death in most of the world.

By treating the stem cells with two growth factors, or growth-encouraging proteins, and then purifying the cells, they were able to turn about 90 percent of stem cells into cardiomyocytes.

The researchers dealt with the other big challenge of stem cell death by implanting the cells along with a cocktail of compounds aimed at helping them grow. The cocktail included a growth "matrix"- a sort of scaffolding for the cells to latch on to as they grow - and drugs that block processes related to cell death. When using the pro-growth cocktail, the success rate of heart muscle grafts improved drastically: 100 percent of rat hearts showed successful tissue grafts, compared to only 18 percent in grafts without the cocktail.

The researchers found that the grafts not only survived, but also helped improve Cardiac muscle functions. Further similar experiments in larger animals like pigs and sheep are slated, and early human clinical trials are estimated to begin in two years.

Source: EurekAlert, Photo: NIH