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reNEW Melbourne Associate Investigator Dr Holly Voges and her team have created the world’s first three-dimensional human heart valve tissue from stem cells, paving the way for new treatments for heart valve disease.
The world-first discovery, out of Dr Voges’ lab at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), has produced lab grown heart valve tissues that closely resemble those in the human body. Published in Cell Stem Cell, the findings advance our understanding into how human heart valves develop, mature and become damaged.
Heart valve disease is a major global health issue, affecting about 28 million people. Heart valve disease occurs when one or more of the heart’s four valves don’t open or close properly, disrupting blood flow. Left untreated, it may cause the heart to work harder and ultimately become life-threatening.
Dr Holly Voges said the breakthrough would help accelerate regenerative approaches for repairing damaged valves in children and adults.
“Heart valve disease can be caused by developmental abnormalities, infection or age-related degeneration,” Dr Voges said.
“Currently there are no treatments that can reverse the damage. Most patients depend on valve replacement surgery, which has significant limitations, including a high risk of blood clots and, for children, the likelihood of needing multiple procedures over their lifetime.
“To overcome this, our team has addressed a major challenge in heart valve biology. By creating heart valve tissues that mimic the molecular features of a human version we can now test and advance new treatments at scale in the lab.”
reNEW Melbourne node director and senior author on the paper Professor Enzo Porrello said, “Engineered stem cells have enabled us to closely recreate the complex structure of human valve tissue. In the future, this technology could be used to more accurately model valve disease and support the development of stem cell-derived replacement valves that grow and adapt with a patient.”
Read the full story on the MCRI website: https://www.mcri.edu.au/news/news-stories/discovery-into-advancing-heart-valve-disease-treatments.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Monash University, QIMR Berghofer, Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Center and The Royal Children’s Hospital also contributed to the findings.
