Cell models from stem cells serve an ever-increasing role in research of cardiac dysfunction. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded in producing cells which offer new insights into properties of the heart. They installed a molecular sensor into the cells which emits light, and not only makes the cells' electrical activity visible, but also makes it possible for the first time to quickly identify cell types.
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It has been possible to produce so-called induced pluripotent stem cells in the laboratory for the past ten years. These stem cells are derived from white blood cells, for example, and can be infinitely reproduced in the laboratory, and be turned into all possible types of cells. This has enabled the use of heart cells produced in this way in order to investigate cardiac rhythm dysfunctions, for example. Animal experiments are only of limited use for this application, and tissue samples cannot be easily taken from patients' hearts. Cultivated heart cells, however, provide the opportunity to research such diseases in a 'miniature' format.
"Our development solves several problems which had made working with such cell models difficult," said t Dr. Daniel Sinnecker, Cardiologist at TUM's Klinikum rechts der Isar. Laboratory-produced heart cells still pose the problem of how one can best measure electrical activity. In the past, microelectrodes were most commonly used in order to directly determine the cells' electrical signals. This procedure, however, is quite tedious, and can only be used on a small number of cells.
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Differences between cell typesIn addition, not all heart cells are alike. All heart cells are able to contract at their own cyclic rhythm, and to forward electrical signals to neighbouring cells. On the other hand, the cells which form the various structures of the heart, such as the atria, the chambers or the sinus node, i.e. the 'pacemaker' of the heart, differ significantly from each other, for example in their action potentials. These are variations in electrical voltage between the inside and outside of cells which form an electric signal that controls the excitation process in the heart and thus its contractions.
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This difference becomes relevant when examining rhythm disorders which are caused by malfunctions in specific areas of the heart muscle. Producing heart cells from stem cells, scientists today have only insufficient ways of influencing whether those cells become heart chamber cells, atrial cells or nodal cells. In order to investigatea particular disorder, scientists must meticulously identify the type of each individual cell.
bifina giao bao nhieu
It has been possible to produce so-called induced pluripotent stem cells in the laboratory for the past ten years. These stem cells are derived from white blood cells, for example, and can be infinitely reproduced in the laboratory, and be turned into all possible types of cells. This has enabled the use of heart cells produced in this way in order to investigate cardiac rhythm dysfunctions, for example. Animal experiments are only of limited use for this application, and tissue samples cannot be easily taken from patients' hearts. Cultivated heart cells, however, provide the opportunity to research such diseases in a 'miniature' format.
"Our development solves several problems which had made working with such cell models difficult," said t Dr. Daniel Sinnecker, Cardiologist at TUM's Klinikum rechts der Isar. Laboratory-produced heart cells still pose the problem of how one can best measure electrical activity. In the past, microelectrodes were most commonly used in order to directly determine the cells' electrical signals. This procedure, however, is quite tedious, and can only be used on a small number of cells.
dia chi ban bifina
Differences between cell typesIn addition, not all heart cells are alike. All heart cells are able to contract at their own cyclic rhythm, and to forward electrical signals to neighbouring cells. On the other hand, the cells which form the various structures of the heart, such as the atria, the chambers or the sinus node, i.e. the 'pacemaker' of the heart, differ significantly from each other, for example in their action potentials. These are variations in electrical voltage between the inside and outside of cells which form an electric signal that controls the excitation process in the heart and thus its contractions.
bifina o dau ban
This difference becomes relevant when examining rhythm disorders which are caused by malfunctions in specific areas of the heart muscle. Producing heart cells from stem cells, scientists today have only insufficient ways of influencing whether those cells become heart chamber cells, atrial cells or nodal cells. In order to investigatea particular disorder, scientists must meticulously identify the type of each individual cell.