In a world first, scientists have found a new way to direct stem cells to heart tissue. The findings, led by researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK and published recently in Chemical Science, could radically improve the treatment for cardiovascular disease, which causes more than a quarter of all deaths in the UK. The open-access article is titled “Designer Artificial Membrane Binding Proteins to Direct Stem Cells to the Myocardium.” To date, trials using stem cells, which are taken and grown from the patient or donor and injected into the patient's heart to regenerate damaged tissue, have produced promising results. However, while these next-generation cell therapies are on the horizon, significant challenges associated with the distribution of the stem cells have remained. High blood flow in the heart combined with various “tissue sinks” that circulating cells come into contact with, means the majority of the stem cells end up in the lungs and spleen. Now, researchers from Bristol's School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine have found a way to overcome this by modifying stem cells with a special protein so the stem cells “home” to heart tissue. Dr. Adam Perriman, the study's lead author, Associate Professor in Biomaterials, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and founder of the cell therapy technology company CytoSeek (https://www.cytoseek.uk/), explained: "With regenerative cell therapies, where you are trying to treat someone after a heart attack, the cells rarely go to where you want them to go. Our aim is to use this technology to re-engineer the membrane of cells, so that when they're injected, they'll home to specific tissues of our choice.”Login Or Register To Read Full Story