Despite its importance, the heart is one of the few tissues in the human body that does not successfully repair damage. At least, that’s what it seemed like for a long time. Australian scientists capture heart muscle cells freely Now playing After a heart attack.
When something obstructs blood flow, heart cells die from lack of oxygen. organs can repair themselves scar tissueHowever, this inelastic fibrous tissue does not beat, making the heart less efficient. These irregularities can ultimately lead to: further attack And there is a possibility of heart failure in the future.
Rats seem to be lucky enough to have hearts capable of doing so. playat least in part. Cardiomyocytes (cardiomyocytes) It was seen Although they divide again after a heart attack, human heart cells are less active after injury.
Related: Research reveals that injured hearts may have hidden self-healing powers
“Our research shows that while the heart remains scarred after a heart attack, it generates new muscle cells and opens up new possibilities.” say Robert Hume is the study’s lead author and a cardiologist at the University of Sydney.
“While this new finding that muscle cells regenerate is exciting, it is not enough to prevent the devastating effects of a heart attack. Therefore, over time we hope to develop treatments that can amplify the heart’s natural ability to generate new cells and regenerate the heart after a stroke.”
Previous studies that looked at patients after cardiac surgery found that hinted Potential for myocardial cells to regenerate after injury.
In the new study, Hume and colleagues examined living human heart tissue from intact hearts taken from donors declared brain dead, as well as samples taken from patients during bypass surgery.
The team is RNA (reading the DNA used to make proteins), closely studied tissue proteins and metabolism.
“We also [blood-deprived] Elucidate this endogenous cardiomyocyte cell division-promoting environment and identify transcripts, proteins, and metabolites previously shown to induce cell division. [cell division] In rodent studies, scientists say write In a paper describing the work.
It is hoped that these discoveries may lead to new discoveries. regenerative therapy Then someday we will leading cause of death in the world.
The study was published in the journal circulation research.