IPSC helped monkeys with a heart attack

Japanese scientists using iPS cells restored the cardiac function of monkeys with a heart attack

Kirill Agafonov, TASS

A group of Japanese scientists, led by Yuji Shiba, professor at the Institute of Biomedicine at Shinshu University, managed to partially restore cardiac function in monkeys after myocardial infarction with the help of induced stem cells (iPS cells). This was reported on Monday by the scientific journal Nature (Shiba et al., Allogeneic transplantation of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes regenerates primate hearts).

In the course of the study, scientists used iPS cells obtained from the skin tissues of crab-eating macaques, which were transformed into cardiac muscle cells – cardiomyocytes. They, in turn, were injected into the hearts of five other monkeys of the same species who had suffered a myocardial infarction. Within 12 weeks, the transplanted cells took root in the muscle tissue, due to which the monkeys' cardiac function improved by 5-10%.

According to the professor, a number of problems that arise during iPS cell transplantation remain unresolved, including the likelihood of tissue rejection, the possibility of developing cancerous tumors and other side effects. In addition, some of the monkeys who were transplanted with stem cells had a heart rhythm disorder for four weeks.

These problems, according to scientists, were not serious, but in the future it is necessary to solve the issue of the possible development of arrhythmia after transplantation of cells into cardiac tissue. The research results also show that such a transplant can be effective for restoring the cardiac function of primates who have suffered a heart attack. As noted by the Japanese media, in the future this opens up the prospect of using this technique for humans.

After the Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2012 for his research in the field of stem cells, interest in this topic, both from the Japanese society and from the Japanese government, has increased many times. Regenerative medicine was declared one of the priority areas of science development.

With a certain chemical action, iPS cells are able to become cells of any type, which theoretically allows growing tissues for different organs. Nevertheless, according to a number of experts, transplanting grown tissues into the body can lead to the appearance of malignant tumors.

Portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  11.10.2016