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Advanced Cell Technology Release: Cloned Stem Cells Regenerate Heart Muscle Following A Heart Attack
WORCESTER, Mass., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT) reports that nuclear
transfer cloning can be used to regenerate infarcted heart. The results of a study, which appear
online (ahead of print) in the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation Research, by ACT
and its collaborators at New York Medical College and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,
provide the first experimental evidence in animals of the successful use of cloning techniques to
repair a severely damaged organ.
One aspect of the debate over the use of cloning in medicine (therapeutic cloning) has centered on
the question of whether cloned cells would be healthy enough to be of practical use in cell therapy.
This paper addressed that question. A heart attack results in the destruction of heart muscle that
cannot normally be repaired by the body. Using a mouse model, ACT and its collaborators isolated and
injected cloned stem cells into the region of the heart adjacent to the damaged heart tissue. The
cloned stem cells replace nearly 40% of the scar tissue at the site of injury and improved the
ability of the heart to beat normally.
"This study introduces an important new paradigm," said Robert Lanza, Vice President of Medical &
Scientific Development at ACT, and lead author of the study. "Cloned cells are not only
histocompatible, but are more youthful, and potentially of greater therapeutic value than adult
stem cells."
Significantly, the regenerated heart tissue was composed of not only of heart muscle cells but also
of blood vessels that connected with the coronary circulation. The cloned myocytes were functionally
competent, expressed contractile proteins, and were electrically and mechanically coupled to other
heart cells. Similarly the newly formed coronary arterioles and capillary structures contained blood
and likely contributed to tissue oxygenation. Cardiac replacement resulted in an improvement of
ventricular hemodynamics and in a reduction of diastolic wall stress. Importantly, a relatively
small number of cells were injected in the region bordering the infarct, suggesting that the
magnitude of myocardial regeneration obtained with stem cells from cloned embryos was superior to
that previously achieved with adult bone marrow cells. Complete healing of the infarcted region in
the mouse occurred in three weeks, strengthening the relevance of the present study to ischemic
heart disease and post-infarction heart failure in humans.
"Heart disease remains the number one killer of Americans," said Michael D. West, Chief Executive
Officer of ACT. "But medical researchers are beginning to imagine a day when science can conquer
this dreaded disease, unlocking the power of stem cells to mend broken hearts. The ability of
therapeutic cloning to theoretically make any cell or tissue type in the human body, and cells that
would likely be accepted by the body as 'self' underscores the importance of our nation leading the
world in the science of regenerative medicine."
The researchers of the paper from Advanced Cell Technology, collaborated with scientists from the
Cardiovascular Research Institute at New York Medical College; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center, New York; and the RIKEN Center of Developmental Biology, Kobe, Japan. The paper's other
authors are Piero Anversa (senior author), Annarosa Leri, Stefano Chimenti, Alyssa Monsen, Daria
Nurzynska, and Jan Kajstura of the Cardiovascular Research Institute; Malcolm
A.S. Moore, Jae- Hung Shieh, and Jan Hendrikx of the Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center; and
Teruhiko Wakayama and Anthony C.F. Perry of RIKEN.
Advanced Cell Technology is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and commercializing the
applications of cloning and stem cell technology in human medicine.
Additional information can be found at http://www.advancedcell.com/ Contact: Robert Lanza, M.D. or
Michael D. West, Ph.D. Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. 1 Innovation Drive Worcester, MA 01605 (508)
756-1212 http://www.advancedcell.com/
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. CONTACT: Robert Lanza, M.D. or Michael D. West, Ph.D., both of
AdvancedCell Technology, Inc., +1-508-756-1212
Web site: http://www.advancedcell.com/
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http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/manisaherbivore DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/deadpeoplewalking
WORCESTER, Mass., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT) reports that nuclear
transfer cloning can be used to regenerate infarcted heart. The results of a study, which appear
online (ahead of print) in the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation Research, by ACT
and its collaborators at New York Medical College and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,
provide the first experimental evidence in animals of the successful use of cloning techniques to
repair a severely damaged organ.
One aspect of the debate over the use of cloning in medicine (therapeutic cloning) has centered on
the question of whether cloned cells would be healthy enough to be of practical use in cell therapy.
This paper addressed that question. A heart attack results in the destruction of heart muscle that
cannot normally be repaired by the body. Using a mouse model, ACT and its collaborators isolated and
injected cloned stem cells into the region of the heart adjacent to the damaged heart tissue. The
cloned stem cells replace nearly 40% of the scar tissue at the site of injury and improved the
ability of the heart to beat normally.
"This study introduces an important new paradigm," said Robert Lanza, Vice President of Medical &
Scientific Development at ACT, and lead author of the study. "Cloned cells are not only
histocompatible, but are more youthful, and potentially of greater therapeutic value than adult
stem cells."
Significantly, the regenerated heart tissue was composed of not only of heart muscle cells but also
of blood vessels that connected with the coronary circulation. The cloned myocytes were functionally
competent, expressed contractile proteins, and were electrically and mechanically coupled to other
heart cells. Similarly the newly formed coronary arterioles and capillary structures contained blood
and likely contributed to tissue oxygenation. Cardiac replacement resulted in an improvement of
ventricular hemodynamics and in a reduction of diastolic wall stress. Importantly, a relatively
small number of cells were injected in the region bordering the infarct, suggesting that the
magnitude of myocardial regeneration obtained with stem cells from cloned embryos was superior to
that previously achieved with adult bone marrow cells. Complete healing of the infarcted region in
the mouse occurred in three weeks, strengthening the relevance of the present study to ischemic
heart disease and post-infarction heart failure in humans.
"Heart disease remains the number one killer of Americans," said Michael D. West, Chief Executive
Officer of ACT. "But medical researchers are beginning to imagine a day when science can conquer
this dreaded disease, unlocking the power of stem cells to mend broken hearts. The ability of
therapeutic cloning to theoretically make any cell or tissue type in the human body, and cells that
would likely be accepted by the body as 'self' underscores the importance of our nation leading the
world in the science of regenerative medicine."
The researchers of the paper from Advanced Cell Technology, collaborated with scientists from the
Cardiovascular Research Institute at New York Medical College; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center, New York; and the RIKEN Center of Developmental Biology, Kobe, Japan. The paper's other
authors are Piero Anversa (senior author), Annarosa Leri, Stefano Chimenti, Alyssa Monsen, Daria
Nurzynska, and Jan Kajstura of the Cardiovascular Research Institute; Malcolm
A.S. Moore, Jae- Hung Shieh, and Jan Hendrikx of the Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center; and
Teruhiko Wakayama and Anthony C.F. Perry of RIKEN.
Advanced Cell Technology is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and commercializing the
applications of cloning and stem cell technology in human medicine.
Additional information can be found at http://www.advancedcell.com/ Contact: Robert Lanza, M.D. or
Michael D. West, Ph.D. Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. 1 Innovation Drive Worcester, MA 01605 (508)
756-1212 http://www.advancedcell.com/
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. CONTACT: Robert Lanza, M.D. or Michael D. West, Ph.D., both of
AdvancedCell Technology, Inc., +1-508-756-1212
Web site: http://www.advancedcell.com/
Who loves ya. Tom Jesus Was A Vegetarian! http://jesuswasavegetarian.7h.com Man Is A Herbivore!
http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/manisaherbivore DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/deadpeoplewalking