Experiments with the heart
At the University of California, scientists were able to grow a tiny "heart."The system was derived from stem cells and is capable of simulating contractions of the heart muscle. Such data were presented in the journal Nature Communications. The "heart" obtained in the laboratory can be beaten like the present.
It should be noted that this "heart", produced in the laboratory, is not the first. But the current one is characterized by better characteristics. In particular, it more accurately responds to signals that affect the differentiation of cells. This allows, according to scientists, to more precisely control the operation of the system. The lead author of the study, Kevin Healy, believes that they were able to demonstrate an example that shows the development of the heart muscle in a laboratory. With the help of this technology it is possible to carry out the research of many medications, the action of which is connected with the violation in the work of the heart. It also allows to identify some drugs, the reception of which can be dangerous for the body during pregnancy.
The source for creating such a tiny "heart" was the pluripotent stem cells. The peculiarity of them is that they can become the basis for the subsequent formation of all kinds of cells. In the cardiac muscle, the main cells are cardiomyocytes. Scientists were able to pick up certain chemical signals, which allowed to launch the process of creating such cells. First, the layer of newly formed cardiomyocytes was insignificant, but after a while it acquired volume, which allowed the emergence of a 3D structure functioning like a heart. It should be noted that outside the structure there were cells of connective tissue, and in the center there were muscle cells.
The authors of the study believe that the creation of such a tiny "heart" in many respects repeats the embryonic development of this organ( in particular, its earliest stage).Call such a full-fledged education, obtained in the laboratory, it is impossible. Rather, it is a certain system that functions in a similar way with this body. But the systems obtained are of great interest for scientists and can be used in various studies. The most important they can have during the passage of tests of drugs that are capable of having a side effect on the heart muscle, which can lead to the development of heart defects.
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