According to El Confidencial, scientists at Mayo Clinic have designed an experimental heart patch built from stem-cell-derived tissue that can be delivered without opening the chest cavity.
The team used reprogrammed adult cells to grow living cardiac tissue in the lab, then shaped it into an ultrathin sheet flexible enough to slide through a narrow tube.
Early preclinical studies suggested that the implant improved heart function and supported healing after injury.
“For patients with severe heart failure, there are very few options beyond mechanical pumps or transplants”, said Wuqiang Zhu, PhD, and senior author of the study published in Acta Biomaterialia to Mayo Clinic. “We hope this approach will offer a new way to repair their own hearts”.
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Engineering a living patch
Heart attacks frequently leave behind dense scar tissue that cannot contract or transmit electrical signals.
Researchers, working with engineers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, created a hybrid scaffold made from nano- and microfibers coated in gelatin.
This structure supports a blend of human heart muscle cells, vascular cells and fibroblasts, forming a thin, pulsating sheet of tissue.
Before implantation, the patch is treated with bioactive factors that encourage new blood-vessel growth and help the cells survive once they reach the heart surface.
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Instead of sutures, the team used a biocompatible adhesive to secure the tissue while minimizing further damage.
Toward future clinical use
The project aligns with Mayo Clinic’s Genesis Initiative, which aims to accelerate therapies capable of restoring or regenerating human organs.
Researchers hope that, with further refinement, personalized patches grown from a patient’s own reprogrammed cells could reduce reliance on donor hearts.
Larger safety studies are planned, and Zhu estimated to El Confidencial that moving toward human trials may take at least five years.
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Even so, he noted that a minimally invasive regenerative option could expand treatment possibilities for patients too fragile for open-heart surgery.
Sources: El Confidencial, Acta Biomaterialia, and Mayo Clinic.
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