Tasar Silkworm Provides Hope for Future Research in Heart Regeneration

Coronary arteries are the vessels responsible for maintaining a constant supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. When this supply is interrupted—typically, as a result of blockage following rupture of an upstream atherosclerotic plaque—the heart muscle is suddenly deprived of its sustenance and a myocardial infarction (heart attack) occurs. This condition is serious because of the irreversible damage or death of cells that results as impaired blood flow progresses. Heart cells that die do not grow back. Instead, a much weaker collagen scar forms in their place. Muscular power is compromised, and often, eventual heart failure results.

Researchers have been working for years to identify potential methods of improving post-MI treatment with little success. One possibility being investigated is a replacement tissue “patch” to be grown from healthy tissue in the laboratory and later implanted into the body to restore health to the affected cardiac muscle. This project has produced many challenges in the past. “All of the tested fibres had serious disadvantages,” says Felix Engel, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research. “They were either too brittle, were attacked by the immune system or did not enable the heart muscle cells to adhere correctly to the fibres.” Recently, however, Scientists in Engel’s lab in Kharagpur, India have found that an unlikely material might “crack the code” for future heart tissue regeneration. That is—the silk of the tasar silkworm.

This material was found to be advantageous for a variety of reasons. Proteins exist on its surface that allow heart muscle cells to adhere easily. The silk is also very coarse, providing a strong foundation for muscle cells to undergo proliferation in a three dimensional fashion. In a study using rats, “the communication between the cells was intact… They beat synchronously over a period of 20 days, just like real heart muscle,” Engel said.

This method has yet to make an appearance in human clinical trials. A lack of human cardiac tissue supply is primarily responsible for this delay. Regardless, the successes of tasar silk in rats is a certainly a promising start that provides much hope for future treatment of myocardial infarction patients.

Link:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120127135943.htm