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Stockholm, Sweden — A groundbreaking study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Circulation, has unveiled an extraordinary ability of the human heart to regenerate muscle cells after severe injury when aided by a supportive heart pump. This discovery challenges long-held beliefs about the heart’s capacity for self-repair and offers hope for new therapeutic strategies for heart failure patients.
Limited Healing in the Damaged Heart
Under normal conditions, the human heart has a very limited ability to regenerate its muscle cells, or myocytes. This capacity is even more diminished in hearts damaged by severe heart failure. However, researchers have found that patients treated with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD)—a surgically implanted pump designed to support blood flow in failing hearts—experience a dramatic boost in cell renewal.
Regeneration Rate Surpasses Healthy Hearts
The study revealed that in patients showing improved heart function after receiving an LVAD, the rate of heart muscle cell regeneration was over six times higher than in healthy individuals. This unexpected discovery suggests that the heart may harbor a hidden mechanism that can be activated to repair itself under certain conditions.
“The results suggest there might be a hidden key to kick-start the heart’s own repair mechanism,” said Olaf Bergmann, senior researcher at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet and the study’s lead author.
Mechanism Still Unknown
The exact reason behind this phenomenon remains a mystery. “It is difficult to say. In the existing data, we cannot find an explanation for the effect, but we will now continue to study this process at a cellular and molecular level,” Bergmann explained.
Despite the unknown mechanism, the findings open the door to potential therapies aimed at enhancing the heart’s natural regenerative abilities, offering hope to patients who currently rely on transplants or mechanical support for long-term survival.
A Unique Method to Date Cells
The study employed an innovative method to determine the age of heart cells, pioneered by Professor Jonas Frisén of Karolinska Institutet. By analyzing the levels of radioactive carbon in cells—left over from nuclear testing in the 1960s—scientists were able to calculate how recently new heart cells had been formed.
Collaboration and Future Implications
This international effort, conducted in collaboration with Stavros Drakos at the University of Utah, highlights the potential for new heart failure treatments that stimulate self-repair. Researchers believe these findings could transform recovery prospects for patients, potentially reducing reliance on invasive procedures.
“This offers some hope that the recovery after a heart incident can somehow be boosted,” said Bergmann.
Looking Ahead
With plans to delve deeper into the cellular and molecular triggers of this regenerative process, scientists are optimistic about uncovering pathways to harness the heart’s latent healing capabilities.
For more information, refer to the original study: Wouter Derks et al., “A Latent Cardiomyocyte Regeneration Potential in Human Heart Disease,” Circulation (2024).
