Searching for cells and molecules to repair heart tissue

Single-cell transcriptomics of adult cardiac progenitor cells: Hierarchical organization, index sorting and isoform sequencing

Dr Michela Noseda and her team at Imperial College London are investigating ways to boost the heart’s capacity to repair itself after a heart attack. Damage to the heart currently cannot be reversed because heart cells cannot efficiently repair the heart muscle after injury, and heart failure develops. Scientists around the world are working to design new treatments that can stimulate the heart’s own cells to repair the damaged tissue. Although the heart doesn’t have efficient repair mechanisms, it does contain stem cells – which can develop into all the different types of heart tissue. These stem cells could potentially be used to repair damaged heart muscle. But there aren’t many stem cells in the heart, so it’s important to be able to identify these precious cells and learn how to boost their numbers. In this project, Dr Noseda will use cutting-edge technologies to isolate more than 1,000 single heart cells and study their genetic blueprint. She will look at which ones express a gene called stem cell antigen 1 (Sca1) – a signature of many heart stem cells – and what molecules these cells express. Using computer approaches, she will create a blueprint that marks out the most promising heart repair stem cells and will then carry out tests in the lab to prove the cell’s repair abilities.