Image Caption: This image shows an implanted graft of cardiac cells derived from human stem cells (green) meshed and beat with primates' heart cells (red). Credit: Murry Lab/University of Washington

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

When a heart attack occurs, the oxygen-rich blood that normally flows through is interrupted by the blockage in an artery. The longer that blood flow is restricted or cut off, the more tissue and muscle in the area dies or is scarred. The eventual result can be heart failure, especially if one heart attack is followed by another.

In 2013, Harvard Health Publications released a report taking a look at the state of stem cell research into the problem of regenerating heart tissue, and the results were mixed.

A new study from the University of Washington, however, reveals improvement in those results. The findings, published online in Nature, demonstrate that damaged heart muscles in monkeys have been restored by the use of heart cells created from human embryonic stem cells. The exciting implication, according to the research team, is that their approach should also be feasible in humans.

Before this study, it was not known if it is possible to produce sufficient numbers of these cells and successfully use them to remuscularize damaged hearts in a large animal whose heart size and physiology is similar to that of the human heart, said Dr. Charles Murry, UW professor of pathology and bioengineering and director of the UW Center for Cardiovascular Biology, in a recent statement.

Murray, who collaborated with Dr. Michael Laflamme and other colleagues at the UW Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, predicts clinical trials with humans within the next four years.

[ Watch the Video: Regenerating Heart Muscle Damage With Stem Cell Therapy ]

For the study, the researchers induced controlled myocardial infarctions, a type of heart attack, in anesthetized pigtail macaques, by blocking the coronary artery for 90 minutes. This is the accepted practice for studying myocardial infarction in primates.

Coronary artery disease is the primary culprit in myocardial infarctions in humans. The infarcted heart muscle, damaged by a lack of oxygen, does not grow back, leaving the heart less able to pump blood. This often leads to heart failure, the leading cause of cardiovascular death. Researchers hope to use new heart cells created from stem cells in order to restore normal function to the failing heart.

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Heart Muscles Repaired After Heart Attack Using Human Embryonic Stem Cells