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– A team from Osaka University announced that performed the world’s first cardiac muscle cell transplant created from iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) as part of a clinical trial.
Minapim by Hernan Valenzuela: The team leader said the transplant from iPS cells was performed in a clinical trial to study the effectiveness and safety of treatment in a patient with severe heart failure. These cells are expected to resolve the common donor shortage in cardiac therapies.
Yoshiki Sawa, professor at the university’s cardiovascular surgery unit, and colleagues plan to transplant leaves of cardiac muscle cells over three years into 10 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscles don’t get enough blood due to clotted arteries. In experimental studies, a sheet of heart muscle tissue made from stem cells is transplanted.
The Cardiology Department team has been using iPS cells to develop cardiomyocytes for cardiac therapy. The project was conducted with guidance from AMED (Japanese Medical Research and Development Agency). The Sawa group has used a myocardial ischemia model to study the therapeutic benefits of transplanting cardiac leaves derived from iPS cells. In addition, they can now produce enough safe heart leaves for human transplantation.
The iPS cells, which were discovered by Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka, have tremendous potential in regenerative medicine. IPS cells made from the patient and then differentiated into cardiomyocytes minimize the risk of immune rejection, but the time required for this preparation is very long in the case of urgent care. Instead, iPS cells used in Kyoto University’s iPS Cell Stock can be differentiated into cardiomyocytes and stored until needed.
The cells in the degradable leaves attached to the surface of patients’ hearts must grow and secrete a protein that can regenerate blood vessels and improve cardiac function. IPS cells have already been derived from blood cells from healthy donors and stored. Each leaf is about 4 to 5 centimeters wide and 0.1 millimeter thick.
The discovery of iPS cells received the Nobel Prize in 2012. In the medical world, these cells are attracting great enthusiasm because of their potential in regenerative medicine. We work on iPS cell-based therapies for ischemic cardiomyopathy, paying attention to the safety and efficacy of experimental therapies, said Prof. Yoshiki Sawa.
Source: Osaka University
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