MIPT experts developed the method of heart cell transplantation by creating molecular carriers. This study could be the basis for a new technique for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia, a common cardiac pathology. This was reported to socialbites.ca at the Ministry of Education and Science.
Arrhythmia is a violation of the heart rhythm. One of the reasons for this violation is the presence of an obstacle in the path of the excitation wave. The obstruction is usually connective tissue replacing normal contractile muscle tissue.
“This happens when, as in cirrhosis, fibroblasts – connective tissue cells appear in the liver instead of damaged hepatocytes. They do not play a functional role, but divide well and form a kind of “weeds” among the necessary cells – in the case of arrhythmias these are contracting cardiomyocytes. The correction of this problem is medical or We propose to transplant dysfunctional cells – “weeds” – into the tissue of an organ, replacing them with functional ones, ”says Sergey Bakumenko, an employee of the Laboratory of Experimental and Cellular Medicine of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
It seems that the easiest way to restore heart tissue is to naturally replace the damaged area with healthy stem cells from the patient. However, this method has not been proven to be effective in research. The inclusion of cultured heart cells also does not guarantee their survival and functional fusion with the host tissue. In the latter case, the main problem is that single cardiomyocytes lose their structure and become very fragile and inactive.
It is possible to overcome this problem with the help of scaffolding, a molecular carrier that preserves the structure of the implanted cells.
Scaffolds formed in MIPT surround the cell and provide restoration of excitability just before implantation. They also provide coating with fibronectin, a human protein that initiates the graft fixation process in tissue and can carry fluorescent markers for external control of the location of cells.
“We propose a method that takes advantage of polymer nanofiber scaffolds with the ability to deliver cells. To determine the optimal delivery route, we conducted a series of experiments in which we delivered cells to the heart of a mouse using a syringe or applying a ‘patch’, but all cells were made of very fine microcarrier nanofibers. Experiments showed that cells take root better in microcarriers – they integrate functionally faster and survive longer,” added Valeria Tsvelaya, head of the Experimental and Cellular Medicine Laboratory of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, in a conversation with socialbites.ca.
According to scientists, the created molecular transporters very quickly – within 30 minutes – establish electromechanical contact between the inducible transports and the heart. Therefore, this study could be the basis for a new technique for the treatment of arrhythmias.
previously judicial The day with the highest probability of having a heart attack and stroke.