Cryonics Revival Scenarios & Potential Roadmaps & Hypotheses

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Artificially Grown Tissue Repairs Heart Failure in Monkeys

Published in Bioprinting.

The researchers intend a human trial in the near future.

German scientists have created lab-grown “patches” of heart muscle tissue derived from pluripotent stem cells. Following a success with rhesus monkeys, they have obtained approval for a human trial [1].

Wear and tear
As one of the most hard-working tissues in the body, the heart muscle is subject to incessant wear and tear due to aging and various health conditions. Unsurprisingly, heart failure is one of the most common age-related causes of death.

Scientists have tried to repair damaged heart tissue by injecting healthy heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes), but retention and rejection issues are abundant. In a new study published in Nature, a group of German researchers has reported on an exciting new technique: growing entire patches of brand-new heart tissue from scratch.

Let it grow
The process starts with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are cells that were de-differentiated using cellular reprogramming methods into a stem-like pluripotent state. Such cells can then be re-differentiated into many cell types. Reprogramming also makes them epigenetically younger, so they are ready to do heavy lifting.

These newly differentiated cardiomyocytes are then mixed with stromal cells that provide structural support, and a patch of something closely resembling heart muscle tissue is grown in culture. The researchers call these structures engineered heart muscle (EHM).

https://www.lifespan.io/news/artificially-grown-tissue-repairs-heart-failure-in-monkeys/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=artificially-grown-tissue-repairs-heart-failure-in-monkeys&mc_cid=6d8e0d404a&mc_eid=13175f6a7a