One of the greatest challenges in the field of regenerative medicine is to find effective therapeutic approaches to repair the adult heart after injury, such as myocardial infarction. Recently, stem cell transplantation and tissue engineering have attracted considerable interest as potential therapeutic options. However, previous research has shown that transplanted stem cells have a limited ability to form functional connections with cardiomyocytes, the muscle cells of the heart.

A new study, coordinated by Antonio Musarò, professor at Sapienza University of Rome and the Pasteur Institute Italy, and published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports of the Nature group, has uncovered an important development in cardiac regenerative medicine research. The researchers introduced an innovative experimental tool called X-MET (engineered muscle tissue).

The results of this research showed that mechanical stimuli can induce functional remodelling in the 3D skeletal muscle system, transforming it into a myocardial-like structure. This finding was supported by molecular and functional analyses showing that remodelled X-MET expresses relevant markers of functional cardiomyocytes compared to skeletal muscle culture systems not subjected to mechanical stimuli and classical two-dimensional cultures.

The most promising results came from experiments on chronic myocardial ischaemia in a mouse model. Implantation of X-MET not only preserved cardiac function, but also significantly prolonged the survival of transplanted infarcted mice by modulating the inflammatory response and reducing fibrosis in the damaged heart.

The use of engineered X-MET is therefore a kind of biological patch for the damaged heart and represents a breakthrough in the field of cardiac regenerative medicine.

This study paves the way for further research and multidisciplinary collaboration that could lead to a significant change in the treatment of heart disease.

The study was supported by the Pasteur Institute Italy, Fondazione Roma, AFM-Telethon. The IBSA Foundation funded the scholarship of Marianna Cosentino, first author of the study.

References:

Remodeled eX vivo muscle engineered tissue improves heart function after chronic myocardial ischemia - Marianna Cosentino, Carmine Nicoletti, Valentina Valenti, Leonardo Schirone, Flavio Di Nonno, Ludovica Apa, Mariam Zouhair, Desiree Genovese, Luca Madaro, Simone Dinarelli, Marco Rossi, Zaccaria Del Prete, Sebastiano Sciarretta, Giacomo Frati, Emanuele Rizzuto & Antonio Musarò - Sci Rep (2023) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37553-8

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