Cardiac stem cell therapy is one of the most promising areas of stem cell research. It can be used to increase the number of functioning heart muscle cells, helping the heart repair itself.

One of the key challenges faced by stem cell researchers in getting the stem cells to remain at the site of the injury after transplantation. Researchers from the North Carolina State University may have found a solution. The team, led by Dr. Ke Cheng, discovered that covering cardiac stem cells with platelet nanovesicles can help the stem cells remain in the location where the heart was damaged.

However, the team faced some challenges when developing the treatment, as Dr. Cheng explains  “Platelets can home in on an injury site and stay there, and even in some cases recruit a body’s own naturally occurring stem cells to the site, but they are a double-edged sword. That’s because once the platelets arrive at the site of injury, they trigger the coagulation processes that cause clotting. In a heart-attack injury, blood clots are the last thing that you want.”

The team needed to find a way to use platelets without triggering clotting. They discovered that a group of glycoproteins located on the surface of the platelets were responsible for helping the platelet move to the site of an injury. The team created platelet nanovesicles from these molecules, then added the nanovesicles to the cardiac stem cells. The stem cells could then move to the site of the injury and remain there for longer periods while they created new cardiac cells.

Dr. Cheng explained how nanovesicles function, saying “The nanovesicle is like the platelet’s coat, there isn’t any internal cellular machinery that could activate clotting. When you place the nanovesicle on the stem cell, it’s like giving the stem cell a tiny GPS that helps it locate the injury so it can do its repair work without any of the side effects associated with live platelets.”

The researchers ran a short study that tested the process on rats with myocardial infarction. After a few weeks, the rodents who received the treatment had 20% or higher cardiac function compared to the control group.

Source: Platelet coated stem cells Could Offer Targeted Heart Repair

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