Cell therapy using cardiac muscle cell aggregates improves heart function following a heart attack
In the event of a heart attack, the affected part of the heart muscle can no longer be supplied with oxygen and nutrients. As a result, the heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) die off. Scar tissue forms, and heart function is impaired. This often leads to chronic heart failure—also known in medical terms as cardiac insufficiency. It is one of the most common causes of death in the Western world.
Heart attack victims suffer from impaired heart function due to the death of cardiomyocytes, the muscle cells in the heart. Scar tissue forms, leading to chronic heart failure, a leading cause of death in Western countries. Dr. Ulrich Martin and Dr. Robert Zweigerdt from Hanover Medical School aim to repair damaged heart areas using biotechnologically produced heart muscle cells.
They inject small clusters of human cardiomyocytes, rather than individual cells, into the damaged heart tissue. This study, conducted in collaboration with the German Primate Centre, used induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to create spherical cell aggregates (hiCMAs) in large bioreactors. After three months of treatment, the researchers found that the hiCMAs improved heart function in Javanese macaques, indicating potential for treating human heart attacks.
The study suggests that the contraction of cardiac muscle cells in cell culture is linked to their ability to improve cardiac function, emphasizing the importance of testing this in larger animal models, such as pigs. However, implementing this therapy in humans would require autologous hiCMAs, derived from the patient's own blood cells, to avoid long-term immunosuppression.
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