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Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have developed an injection that could help regenerate heart tissue without the use of stem cells, according to the hospital.
The treatment could help heart attack victims or children with congenital heart defects, according to the hospital. In the July 24 issue of the journal Cell, the researchers show an injection of the growth factor neuregulin1 (NRG1) into an animal who has had a heart attack can stimulate heart muscle growth.
After birth, heart-muscle cells stop dividing. Using NRG1, which is involved in the development of the heart and nervous system, Children’s researchers were able to restart the cell cycle, stimulating cardiomyocytes to divide and make copies of themselves -- even though they are not stem cells.
The research was conducted by Bernard Kuhn and Kevin Bersell of Children’s department of cardiology. The research shows stem cells aren’t necessary to regenerate tissue, according to the researchers.
The researchers injected NRG1 into the peritoneal cavity of mice who had suffered heart attacks once a day for 12 weeks. The mice showed increased heart regeneration and pumping, and did not show left-ventricular dilation and cardiac hypertrophy, typical heart failure effects that mice not injected exhibited.
In 2007, Kuhn developed a sponge-like patch, soaked in a compound called periostin -- abundant when the fetal heart is developing but scarce in adult hearts. When the patch was placed over the site of cardiac injury in rats, it induced cardiomyocyte proliferation and improved heart function. Periostin is in preclinical development at Children’s to treat human patients with heart failure.
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