For all the things they do for us, our hearts aren’t very good at repairing themselves. Inspired by how the young heart heals itself, the researchers discovered a way to transform scar tissue into healthy tissue in mice. discovered.
In the United States alone, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. So finding ways to prevent and minimize the damage from these heart attacks is a top priority for scientists. Much research has been done to prevent heart attacks, and now there is research into how the heart can repair the scar tissue that forms after it is damaged, especially after a heart attack. This is because the scar tissue left behind is stiffer than healthy heart tissue.
Earlier this year, Australian researchers discovered a way to combat scarring in rat hearts by boosting elastin, a substance that gives some body tissues their elasticity. became smaller and more flexible, and the heart returned to near-normal function.
A new study was conducted by researchers at Duke University (DU) that focused on the function of fibroblasts, cells involved in the formation of both connective and scar tissue. Their plan was to use an RNA-containing process called cellular reprogramming to turn fibroblasts back into healthy heart tissue after a heart attack. The technology has been studied not only for heart repair efforts, but also for restoring motor function in stroke victims, repairing wounds, and more.
However, studies in mice have found that adult fibroblasts are resistant to reprogramming, which is not the case for juvenile fibroblasts.
The difference they found involved a protein oxygen sensor known as Epas1 that prevented adult cells from following reprogramming instructions.Inhibiting Epas1 in adult cells led to successful transformation. .
young again
“By reversing the fibroblast aging process, essentially making the fibroblasts think they’re young again, more fibroblasts were converted into myocardium,” said the DU School of Medicine, which oversaw the study. said Conrad Hodgkinson, Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathology at .
With Epas1 inhibited, the researchers sent RNA packages to mice that had suffered heart attacks.The RNA contains reprogramming instructions to convert fibroblasts into healthy heart tissue. , were encased in exosomes, sac-like structures found throughout the body.
“Exosomes are like shopping bags,” says Hodgkinson. “Cells attach a lot of things to big fat balls and send them out to other cells to send signals. Those are the ways cells can talk to each other.”
This technique has proven successful.
“By reversing cardiac fibroblast senescence, we were able to restore almost all of the lost cardiac function after a heart attack,” said Hodgkinson.
Not only did this study employ cellular reprogramming, but it also employed a method of reversing the effects of aging on some cells, allowing researchers to explore new possibilities such as regeneration of neurons in the brain and recovery of certain skin scars. , said it could have implications for other fields of medicine. dermatological condition.
This research journal of biochemistry.
Source: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by EurekAlert
