Heart attack study could change the game in regenerative medicine

[Jessica-stormlover]

Heart attack study could change the game in regenerative medicine

Heart attack study could change the game in regenerative medicine

Sanford Burnham Prebys researchers have identified a group of proteins that could be the secret to cellular reprogramming, an emerging approach in regenerative medicine in which scientists transform cells to repair damaged or injured body tissues. The researchers were able to reprogram damaged...

medicalxpress.com

by Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Sanford Burnham Prebys researchers have identified a group of proteins that could be the secret to cellular reprogramming, an emerging approach in regenerative medicine in which scientists transform cells to repair damaged or injured body tissues. The researchers were able to reprogram damaged heart cells to repair heart injuries in mice following a heart attack. The findings, which appear in the journal Nature Communications, could one day transform the way we treat a variety of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's and neuromuscular diseases.

"Even if a person survives a heart attack, there could still be long-term damage to the heart that increases the risk of heart problems down the line," says lead author Alexandre Colas, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys. "Helping the heart heal after injury is an important medical need in its own right, but these findings also pave the way for wider applications of cell reprogramming in medicine."

Even though each of our cells has the same number of genes—approximately 20,000—cells can select which genes to "turn on" and "turn off" to change what they look like and what they do. This is the foundation of cellular reprogramming.

Regenerating organs and healing the body through gene therapy holds a lot of promise. I am really hoping things can speed up.