In a recent research study, scientists observed that vitamin C prompted the embryonic stem cells of mice to transform into beating heart muscle cells. This current finding is crucial as it could help in the development of new heart failure treatments.
In a recent research study, scientists observed that vitamin C prompted the embryonic stem cells of mice to transform into beating heart muscle cells. This current finding is crucial as it could help in the development of new treatment for heart failure. A big hope is that doctors will one day have an ample supply of healthy human heart cells to transplant into failing hearts, potentially offering an alternative to patients whose only option is transplantation of an entire donor heart.Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the muscle cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. It results from damage to the heart muscle, often caused by heart attack. Stem cells are so-called master cells that can develop into various tissues in the body. According to the researchers, till date, the method available for coaxing embryonic stem cells into heart cells has proved slow and labour-intensive. But in the new study, researchers from the Harvard Medical School, Boston, reported that vitamin C treatment readily coaxed the embryonic stem cells to convert into heart cells. Out of the 880 compounds tested, only one of them actually worked and it surprised the researchers. The stem cells had been genetically altered to produce a bright green colour, if they converted to heart cells. The results showed that not only did they turn green they also began beating rhythmically. Researchers have also been experimenting with transplanting adult stem cells taken from thigh muscle or bone marrow into damaged human hearts. But, the investigators said, embryonic stem cells might hold the greatest promise because they are the most versatile. It is not known how vitamin C achieves this effect or whether or not it would work with human embryonic stem cells.
Although the findings of this study are very preliminary with respect to their impact on human lives, this line of research has enormous implications for the future care of large number of patients who develop heart failure each year.
Circulation, April 2003 Vol. 107 (12)
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