In previous work, the research group, led by Bradley McConnell, Professor of Pharmacology, Robert J. Schwartz, Hugh Roy as well as Lillian Cranz Cullen, Professor of Biology and Biochemistry, has already converted adipogenic mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in fat cells, into heart precursor cells. They now succeeded in converting these cardiac precursor cells into pacemaker cells of the sinoatrial node. Native pacemaker cells are enclosed in this sinoatrial node, a small structure consisting of only a few thousand specialized pacemaker cells. A failure of the sinoatrial node or a block at any point in the electrical cardiac conduction system leads to arrhythmias.

A cocktail of the transcription factors SHOX2, HCN2 and TBX5 (SHT5) and channel proteins enabled to reprogram the cells into pacemaker-like cells.

According to the researchers, the cells obtained in this way could be useful for an alternative treatment of cardiac conduction system disorders, for a repair after a heart attack or to overcome the limitations of electronic pacemakers.

The investigation has been introduced in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology:
Suchi Raghunathan et al. (2020). Conversion of human cardiac progenitor cells into cardiac pacemaker-like cells. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology 138: 12-22.

More information:
https://www.bionity.com/de/news/1164168/entwicklung-biologischer-herzschrittmacher-der-naechsten-generation.html?pk_campaign=ca0264&WT.mc_id=ca0264