Gene could rejuvenate old hearts

The hearts of newborns have the remarkable capacity to heal themselves after injury by generating new heart cells but we lose this ability shortly after birth.

Now researchers have for the first time identified the gene which causes this change, allowing cells to continue dividing and potentially giving the adult heart the same regenerative power.

In experiments on rats, deleting the Meis1 gene allowed the heart cells of newborn mice to keep dividing for longer, and reactivated the regeneration process in adults without impeding the normal working of the heart.

Results also showed that making the gene more active in newborn mice prevented their cells from dividing and regenerating damaged tissue.

The findings suggest that deactivating the gene could lead to new treatments for adult heart failure patients and offer an alternative to stem cell therapies currently being developed, researchers said.

Dr. Hesham Sadek of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, who led the study, explained: "We found that Meis1 controls several genes that normally act as brakes on cell division.

"As such, Meis1 could possibly be used as an on/off switch for making adult heart cells divide. If done successfully, this ability could introduce a new era in treatment for heart failure."

Heart failure, which limits the heart's ability to effectively pump blood around the body, affects more than 700,000 people in the UK.

It is most commonly caused by heart attack damage, but can also result from a variety of other conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease and congenital illness.

The researchers wrote in the Nature journal: "The hallmark of heart failure is the progressive nature of the disease, and the inability of the adult heart to regenerate after injury."

The transition which takes place in the heart shortly after birth could be the "key to unlocking the regenerative potential" of adult hearts, they said.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “By identifying Meis1 as a key component of the mechanism that prevents adult heart muscle cells from being able to replicate, this paper opens up the exciting prospect that blocking Meis1 will encourage heart muscle to regenerate and repair heart function after a heart attack.

“Further research is now needed to confirm this, and to design ways of blocking Meis1 that could be used clinically.”

Article from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10000446/Gene-could-rejuvenate-old-hearts.html

Well, you might be thinking what has this got to do with genetic engineering? This article actually shows us that there is a cure for heart diseases and many other diseases that are caused because cells in human body fail to multiply as the human body grows older. As mentioned in the article, when doctors delete the cell, Meis1, cells can continue dividing and this could lead to a whole new discovery of cures for other diseases that derive from the same problem. This is therefore an example for how genetic modification affects us in human life.