Myodcardial Infarction
Myodcardial infarctions (commonly known as heart attacks) occur when blood flow to the heart muscle is interrupted by coronary artery disease, leading to the death of heart muscle. The heart has minimal ability to regenerate, so the lost muscle is replaced by scar tissue, leaving the patient with reduced cardiac function. In many cases, this leads to heart failure, a form of heart disease in which the heart cannot meet the body’s demand for blood flow.
Disease Impact
Nearly 18 million people die each year from heart disease, making it the leading cause of death in the world. In the United States alone, the economic impact of heart disease exceeds $200 billion, a figure that is expected to rise dramatically. Patients with heart disease experience progressive, significant declines in quality of life marked by reduced activity and higher hospitalization rates. While lifestyle changes and medical treatments are available to slow the progression to end-stage heart failure, none have the ability to restore normal heart functioning.
Current Research
At the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM), researchers in multiple labs are using stem cell technology to pioneer novel approaches to treating heart disease in ways that address the root causes, rather than manage, this chronic disease.
- Regenerating damaged or lost heart tissue using stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) to help prevent heart failure in heart attack patients
- Growing stem cell-derived vascular cells (blood vessels) in vitro to restore adequate blood flow by improving integration with the heart’s blood vessels
- Launching heart tissue into space to study the effects of microgravity on human health and to advance solutions for patients suffering from cardiac dysfunction here on Earth
- Developing experimental models to show how changes in protein structure can improve heart functioning, opening the door to possible new therapies to help weakened hearts beat with greater force.
- Modeling genetic cardiomyopathies with human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to study how these diseases of the heart muscle develop and to test potential therapies.
Improving Human Health
The heart disease research projects underway at ISCRM are rapidly expanding our understanding about the nature of the human heart and pointing the way to treatments that could soon help people all around the world live longer, healthier lives. In 2018, a study led by ISCRM Director Dr. Charles Murry demonstrated that stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes could be used to regenerate heart tissue in large primates.
Faculty Researchers
Patrick Boyle, PhD
Jennifer Davis, PhD
Cole DeForest, PhD
Ken Fujise, MD
Farid Moussavi-Harami, MD
Charles Murry, MD, PhD
Anna V. Naumova, PhD
Joseph D. Powers, PhD
Michael Regnier, PhD
Hannele Ruohola-Baker, PhD
Steve Seslar, MD, PhD
Nathan Sniadecki, PhD
April Stempien-Otero, MD, FACC
Rong Tian, MD, PhD
Daniel Yang, MD
Ying Zheng, PhD