In an interesting step in the direction of transplantable human organs, a team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh has grown human heart tissue. This tissue can beat on its own in a Petri dish.
Scientists used pluripotent stem cells (IPS) for achieving their aim. The process included the reprogramming of human cells and then spurring the cells for developing into special cells. The IPS cells were spurred to develop into multi-potential cardiovascular progenitor cells, which are heart cells. These cells are then divided into three more categories needed for the cardiovascular functions. The IPS cells for this test were taken from the human skin.
After achieving this aim, the researchers transplanted the cells on the stripped heart of a mouse. After a period of few weeks the human cells started reproducing and rebuilding the mouse heart that could beat on its own.
In the past few years, many tests have been conducted for developing heart tissue. This latest development is dependent on embryonic stem cells. However, it will still take few more years to develop a fully functional scientific heart. But this achievement has surely opened the doors for developing patches in order to treat the damaged human organs. The research and findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.