CIRM-funded researchers at UCLA have identified a way that could help regenerate damaged heart muscle, potentially not only saving lives of who’ve had heart attacks.

Heart attacks

Every year more than 735,000 Americans have a heart attack. Survivors often have lasting damage to their heart muscle. This puts them at increased risk for future attacks and heart failure.

Researchers at UCLA used human embryonic stem cells to produce cardiac mesoderm cells. These cells can turn into cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. Each of these cell types plays a crucial role in repairing damaged heart tissue

As the embryonic cells transitioned into cardiac mesoderm, the team identified two key surface markers. These markers, CD13 and ROR2, allowed the researchers identify cells that are heart‑repairing.

When the researchers transplanted these selected cells into an animal model, many of them survived and developed into the cell types required to regenerate heart muscle and blood vessels. The findings suggest a promising path toward more effective heart‑repair therapies.

Big step forward

The research was published in the journal Stem Cell Reports. Dr. Reza Ardehali, the senior author of the CIRM-funded study, says this is a big step forward in the use of embryonic stem cells to help treat heart attacks:

“In a major heart attack, a person loses an estimated 1 billion heart cells,” Ardehali said.

The result is permanent scaring of the heart muscle.

“Our findings seek to unlock some of the mysteries of heart regeneration in order to move the possibility of cardiovascular cell therapies forward,” he said. “We have now found a way to identify the right type of stem cells that create heart cells. (When transplanted) these cells generate muscle tissue in the heart. That means we’re one step closer to developing cell-based therapies for people living with heart disease.”

More good news

There’s more. Ardehali and his team also found a way to track the transplanted cells so they could make sure they were going where they wanted them to, and doing what they needed them to.

In a study published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine,  Ardehali and his team tracked special particles using MRI. They used those particles to label the cardiac mesoderm cells. Once transplanted into the animal model the team was able to follow the cells for up to 40 days.

Knowing how to identify the best cells to repair a damaged heart, and then tracking them over time, gives researchers a valuable tool, said Ardehali. The focus is to develop better, more effective treatments for people who have had a heart attack.

CIRM is already funding a Phase 2 clinical trial, run by a company called Capricor. The trial uses stem cells to treat heart attack patients.

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