Using stem cells to med broken hearts

BHF Centre of Regenerative Medicine (renewal)

The BHF funds three pioneering Centres of Regenerative Medicine at top UK universities. Each centre has a different scientific focus, but together they are moving us closer to our goal of unlocking ways to repair the damage caused by a heart attack. This BHF Centre of Regenerative Medicine is headed by Imperial College London's Professor of Cardiac Pharmacology, Sian Harding and is a partnership between researchers based at Imperial College London, University of Nottingham, University of Westminster, University of Glasgow, University College London and University Medical Centre Hamburg, in Germany. These teams of leading researchers are working on ways to grow new, beating heart muscle to graft on to damaged hearts, helping them beat strongly again. It’s an ambitious goal which involves an approach called tissue engineering; using stem cells and biomaterials to create new heart muscle. Tissue engineers have already made other body parts – such as skin and windpipes – from stem cells, and transplanted them successfully into human patients. But the heart is far more complex than the windpipe. It's a mix of different types of cell, all lined up perfectly in the right proportions and directions to beat together in a highly controlled way. Their work aims to use cutting-edge research to develop potentially life-changing treatments for people with heart failure.