Advancing Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Dressing Therapy for Myocardial Repair: Application Expansion, Technical Innovation and Mechanistic Investigations (renewal)
Heart failure means that the heart cannot pump blood around the body effectively. A common cause of heart failure is a disease of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) which can be inherited or caused by a heart attack. Stem cell therapy shows promise for the treatment of heart failure. However, there are hurdles to overcome before it can become a routine and successful treatment. Professor Ken Suzuki at Queen Mary University of London has developed a new type of stem cell therapy called ‘amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal stromal cell dressing therapy’ (AMSC-dressing therapy). The type of stem cells used in this therapy, and the way they are introduced to the heart, have significant advantages over other methods. In this treatment, a biodegradable patch that contains stem cells is placed on the outside of the heart. In rats, this promotes some repair of heart muscle damaged by a heart attack. Professor Suzuki and his team will now investigate how effective AMSC-dressing therapy is at treating heart failure caused by different diseases. In the future, their hope is to develop a technology to transfer stem cells to the heart that doesn’t involve surgery. They also aim to investigate precisely how the stem cells induce repair of damaged heart muscle. If successful, this research could lead to an effective stem cell therapy being widely adopted in clinical practice, potentially benefitting many people living with heart failure.
Project details
| Grant amount | £1,349,207 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Chairs & Programme Grants |
| Application type | Programme Grant |
| Start Date | 01 January 1900 |
| Duration | 5 years |
| Reference | RG/19/7/34577 |
| Status | In Progress |
