Animal experiments have alternatives: skin stem cells cultivate human "mini" hearts

  American scientists have genetically rearranged pluripotent stem cells extracted from human skin to cultivate microventuri with human heart cells. This "small heart" can beat like a full heart. Researchers can replace this "mini" organ through animal experiments to screen new drugs and test the effects of drugs on babies, and more scientists are concerned about the formation and development of the human heart. He said this will also help reveal its secrets.

  Kevin Healy (Kevin Healy) is a co-researcher and professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He said in an interview with the British Daily on July 15: microventricular. This technology may help quickly screen drugs that may cause congenital heart disease in the fetus. He and Bruce Conklin (Bruce Conklin) are researchers at the Gladstone Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco. They use biochemical techniques to differentiate differentiated and self-assembled stem cells into such small hearts, including capillaries. organization. Related research was published in the latest issue of "Nature Communications", which is a way to promote biophysics. To test the system's potential as a drug screening tool, the researchers contacted differentiated cells with the drug thalidomide. This can cause serious birth defects. They found that at normal therapeutic doses, the drug may cause microventricular development abnormalities, including constant atrophy, muscle contraction and arrhythmia. ..

  Yasukatsubayashi said: "Every year, approximately 280,000 pregnant women are exposed to drugs that are potentially dangerous to the fetus. The most common congenital defects include heart disease. The latest system has the potential to significantly reduce pregnant women’s exposure to toxic drugs. In addition, despite The latest research is mainly focused on heart tissue, but new technologies can promote the growth of other human organs. Sexuality."

  Before, I used to mainly use the cardiomyocytes of experimental mice to study the microtissue of the heart, but this is not an ideal model for studying human diseases. The "mini" heart formed by human stem cells will completely change this habit and replace animal experiments in the future.