Defining the biology of human cardiac stem/progenitor cells for their use as an allogeneic cell therapeutic agent for myocardial repair & regeneration

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When someone suffers a heart attack some of their heart cells die and the heart is unable to heal itself and replace the cells that are lost; eventually the heart will fail. We and others have identified that the adult heart possesses stem cells, called cardiac stem cells, and my laboratory has shown that these stem cells have the unique potential to regenerate lost heart tissue following damage. The goal of my research is to design the best, most cost-effective and easy-to-apply protocols and interventions for treating patients by regenerating and repairing the heart tissue that has been lost. We have discovered substances secreted by the cardiac stem cells that stimulate their growth and ability to make new heart tissue. We have also discovered that stem cells derived from the heart have a unique ability to return to the damaged heart, if injected through the circulation. The aim of this project is to define the biology of cardiac stem cells derived from human myocardium. We will test their stability when propagated to large numbers of cells in culture. We will determine their ability to return to the damaged heart when injected through the circulation and we will determine the substances that the human cardiac stem cells secrete when they reach the heart. Finally, we will determine whether the human cardiac stem cells can stimulate repair and regeneration of the damaged heart, leading to improved heart function. It is envisioned that the results from this project will lead to the first in man clinical trial where human cardiac stem cells are injected into patients who have suffered a heart attack in an attempt to repair and regenerate heart cells and improve outcome.