Researchers from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago have found a method to repair damaged heart muscle cells in mice. This breakthrough may offer a new approach to treating congenital heart defects in children and heart attack damage in adults, as stated in a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Introduction to Medical Investigation.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, also known as HLHS, is an uncommon heart defect present at birth. It occurs when the left side of a baby’s heart does not develop properly during pregnancy. This defect is rare, affecting only one in 5,000 newborns, but is responsible for 23 percent of cardiac deaths within the first week of life.
The cells responsible for contracting the heart muscle, known as cardiomyocytes, have the ability to regenerate in newborn mammals. However, they lose this regenerative ability as they age, explained Paul Schumacker, PhD, the senior author of the study. Dr. Schumacker is the Patrick M. Magoon Distinguished Professor in Neonatal Research at Lurie Children’s and a Professor of Pediatrics and Cell Biology.The author of this article is Dr. Schumacker, a professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Biology, and Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He explained that newborn cardiac muscle cells can still divide mitotically at birth. For example, if a newborn mouse’s heart is damaged when it’s a day or two old, and then you wait until it’s an adult, there would be no sign of the previous damage. In this study, Dr. Schumacker and his colleagues wanted to know if adult mammalian cardiomyocytes could return to their regenerative fetal state. They were particularly interested in fetal cardio.myocytes rely on glucose for survival, rather than producing cellular energy through their mitochondria. Researchers led by Dr. Schumacker removed the mitochondria-related gene UQCRFS1 from the hearts of adult mice, prompting them to revert to a fetal-like state.
In adult mice with heart tissue damage, the team found that the heart cells started to regenerate once UQCRFS1 was blocked. The cells also began to absorb more glucose, similar to how fetal heart cells operate, the study revealed.
The results indicate that increasing glucose utilization can also bring back cell division and promote heart cell regeneration in adult mice with damaged heart tissue.
Growth in adult heart cells is a promising development that could lead to new methods for treating damaged heart cells, according to Dr. Schumacker.
Dr. Schumacker expressed optimism about the potential for this discovery to address a crucial question in cardiology: How can heart cells be induced to divide again in order to repair damaged hearts?
As a next step, Dr. Schumacker and his colleagues plan to focus on identifying medications that can stimulate this response in heart cells without the need for genetic manipulation.
Dr. Schumacker also highlighted the potential for finding a drug that can activate this response in a similar way to genetic manipulation, allowing for the drug to be withdrawn once the response is triggered.
once the heart cells have grown,” Dr. Schumacker said. “For children with HLHS, this has the potential to restore the normal thickness to the left ventricular wall, which could be life-saving.”
Dr. Schumacker also mentioned that this approach could be applicable to adults who have experienced heart damage from a heart attack.
The study received support from National Institutes of Health grants HL35440, HL122062, HL118491, and HL109478.
Research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is conducted through Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, which is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine, and advancing innovative treatments.Lurie Children’s is dedicated to ensuring a healthier future through their continuous pursuit of knowledge. As a nonprofit organization, their mission is to ensure that every child has access to exceptional care. Ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Lurie Children’s also serves as the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
