After a Heart Attack: Repairing Damaged Cells

A heart attack can be a very traumatic event that doesn't end with the termination of the health issue, itself. In fact, as the blockage of blood flow to the heart can cause irreversible cell death and scarring, many that live through a heart attack will die within five years after.

A new study looks at how scientists are hoping to address this problem through cardiac engineering by patching up damaged areas.

According to doctoral students Sharon Fleischer and Ron Feiner who were under the supervision of Dr. Tal Dvir of Tel Aviv University's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology-they worked to fabricate fibers shaped like springs that would allow engineered cardiac tissue to help the heart function similar to the way the heart works normally.

"Until now, when scientists have tried to engineer cardiac tissue, they've used straight fibers to support the contracting cells," Dr. Dvir said, via a press release. "However, these fibers prevent the contraction of the engineered tissue. What we did was mimic the spring-like fibers that promote contraction and relaxation of the heart muscle. We found that by growing tissues on these fibers, we got more functional tissues."

The researchers worked to create the cells by taking tissues from the hearts of patients or animals and growing a three-dimensional scaffold that replaces the extracellular matrix via a collagen grid that naturally supports the cells in the heart. Over time the cells come together in order to form a tissue that generates electrical impulses that expand and contract spontaneously. The created tissue can then be surgically implanted to replace damaged tissues and improve cardiovascular function in patients.

"These properties are very important, because we want to transplant the tissue into the human heart, which expands and contracts constantly," Fleischer said.

Background information from the study shows that heart disease is responsible for a third of all deaths in the United States, according to a 2013 American Heart Association report.

Researchers hope that the engineered tissue could create spring-like fibers to help end the epidemic and save lives.

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More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Biomaterials.