Pioneering Study Shows Use of Embryonic Stem Cells in Heart Cell Generation

A pioneering study by scientists from the U.S., U.K., and Canada has used embryonic stem cells to establish the possibility of generating right within the laboratory functioning heart tissue that can be used for transplants and for treating patients who have suffered heart attacks.

The study, which has been featured in Nature, a journal, used embryonic stem cells to develop an immature heart cell, called the progenitor cell. The progenitor cells then developed into three basic kinds of heart cells – cardiomyocytes, vascular smooth cells, and endothelial cells. All these three cell types are critical components of the heart muscle.

The scientists developed these cells from embryonic stem cell cultures that were nourished with a variety of molecules and growth factors that contributed to general cell development. The scientists were able to achieve the differentiation into the three types of heart cells, though immature, by providing the correct growth factors at the appropriate time.

To test the effectiveness of the cells, the scientists used mice in which they simulated cardiac disease and transplanted these cells into them. The result of the experiment was startling: the mice showed noticeable improvement in their cardiac condition after the stem cells were introduced.

Dr. Gordon Keller, one of the researchers from Toronto’s McEwen Center for Regenerative Medicine, said of the study, “This development means that we can efficiently and accurately make different types of human heart cells for use in both basic and clinical research.”

According to Dr. Keller, the significance of the new study is not in showing heart cells can be developed from embryonic stem cells, as there are other groups of scientists who have already demonstrated that. He said the significance of this study was that it showed step-wise how the embryonic cells actually develop into the different kinds of heart cells.

Dr. Keller said, “The immediate impact of this is significant as we now have an unlimited supply of these cells to study how they develop, how they function and how they respond to different drugs. In the future, these cells may also be very effective in developing new strategies for repairing damaged hearts, following a heart attack.”

Other researchers were upbeat about the results of the study too. The British Heart Foundation’s associate director, Jeremy Pearson, said, “This research provides another promising indication that we are steadily getting closer to the day when stem cells will be used successfully to repair damaged hearts in patients.”