Probing Matters of the Heart: Stem Cell Differentiation Study Sheds Light On Genetic Basis of Heart Disease

Article link:
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120914140044.htm


Biologists from MIT and the University of California at San Francisco have successfully outlined the process embryonic stem cells have to go through in order to differentiate themselves into mature heart cells. This study was the first to track the growth and differentiation of stem cells in such a way that it could be used to understand particular mutations and could help open the door to engineering artificial heart tissue. The biologists also tracked the patterns of histone-modifications by growing mouse embryonic cells in a lab dish while treating them with proteins that drive heart cell development. By doing this they were able to identify when and where groups of genes were being transcribed. They found that many of these were being made in what used to be known as 'junk' DNA; which they discovered actually plays a large role in gene expression and is not 'junk' at all. All of this research could help biologists figure out why variations in sequencing can lead to disease and making it possible for researchers to create new heart cells for multiple functions.


I chose this article because I am hoping to enter into a field where I can work closely with the heart such as cardiac biomechanics. I also volunteered in the Cath Lab at St. Joseph's Hospital in Bryan all summer and saw plenty of procedures which allowed me to also see the effects of all kinds of heart disease and conditions. What I noticed a lot of the time was how severely the heart was effected by things such as heart attacks, such as when part of the heart muscle dies due to a extended period of time without oxygen. As I read this article I thought of how many possibilities these stem cells could afford people with cardiac muscle damage which made me want to share this article.