Scientists at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute have developed a technique to regenerate damaged heart muscle cells in mice, offering potential treatments for congenital heart defects and heart attack damage. This was achieved by modifying heart cells to revert to a fetal-like state, which enables them to repair themselves by utilizing glucose more effectively. The findings, which could lead to drug treatments that activate this regenerative process, have implications for both pediatric and adult cardiac care.
Researchers at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago have developed a method to regenerate damaged heart muscle cells in mice. This breakthrough could open new possibilities for treating congenital heart defects in children and repairing heart attack damage in adults, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation .
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS, is a rare congenital heart defect that occurs when the left side of a baby’s heart doesn’t develop properly during pregnancy. The condition affects one in 5,000 newborns and is responsible for 23 percent of cardiac deaths in the first week of life. Cardiomyocytes, the cells responsible for contracting the heart muscle, can regenerate in newborn mammals, but lose this ability with age, said senior author Paul Schumacker, PhD, Patrick M.
Magoon Distinguished Professor in Neonatal Research at Lurie Children’s a.