Heart disease is considered as one of the leading causes of death in Western Countries and was responsible for killing an estimated 17.5 million people globally in 2012 — accounting for 3 in 10 deaths (Who.int, 2015). The majority of people killed by heart disease died from a heart attack (7.4 million in 2012), followed by stroke (6.7 million in 2012).

A heart attack occurs when there is a blockage in an artery that supplies blood to the heart (Heartfoundation.org.au, 2015). The heart muscle requires blood to function and relies upon the oxygen that the blood contains to survive. If the tissue that makes up the heart muscle does not receive adequate levels of oxygen, it will begin to die.

The damage done during a heart attack typically leaves the heart muscle permanently damaged. The heart muscle has very limited capacity to repair the damaged tissue and the human heart has a limited number of cardiac cells — it cannot regrow cardiac tissue.

Scientists hope to use cord blood stem cells for cardiac repair, which may be able to:

• Help patients recover after a heart attack or any illness that has damaged the heart muscle
• Help repair various forms of heart disease including Rheumatic heart disease, Hypertensive heart disease, Ischemic heart disease, Cerebrovascular disease and Inflammatory heart disease
• Help to repair damage to the heart that has come from other sources including physical injury, disease or congenital abnormality

The Regenerative Power of Umbilical Cord Stem Cells

Umbilical cord blood contains Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) that are already being used to treat almost 80 different life-threatening diseases including cancer, metabolic disorders, immune system disorders and blood disorders (Corcell, 2015).

Hematopoietic Stem Cells are capable of renewing the body’s ability to produce healthy blood cells. More than 30,000 transplants using HSCs have taken place around the world, saving the lives of thousands of people (Ballen KK, 2015).

Umbilical cord blood also contains other types of stem cells which are multipotent and have the capacity to differentiate into multiple types of cells. Some types of stem cells can differentiate into cardiomyocytes (cardiac cells), osteoblasts (bone cells), myocytes (muscle cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells) and adipocytes (fat cells) (Harris, 2013).

Researchers are hoping to use these stem cells from the cord blood to both regenerate tissue and repair cardiac damage.

How Can Researchers Use Cord Blood Stem Cells for Cardiac Repair?

Most cardiovascular diseases result in the loss of functioning cardiac cells which is called cardiomyocytes. (Bastiaan C du Pré, 2013). The heart has a limited number of cardiomyocytes because they cannot proliferate. That means when the heart is damaged or diseased, new cardiomyocytes cannot be generated to replace the damaged cells.

Many of the current research projects hope to replenish the number of cardiomyocytes by using multipotent stem cells that have been prompted into becoming cardiac stem cells. They are transplanted into the heart muscle and begin to form new cardiac cells. There is also some evidence that the growth hormones produced by stem cells and anti-inflammatory action of stem cells can help kick-start the body’s natural healing process.

Here are a few of the promising research projects that will use cord blood stem cells for cardiac repair:

The  Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine has performed a number of clinical trials to help them understand the potential of stem cells for treating cardiac disease. One of the recent trials uses hematopoietic stem cells which are found in both bone marrow and umbilical cord blood. 

The stem cells were harvested from a patient, then underwent a laboratory process to be converted into cardiac cells. Those cells were then injected into the patient’s heart in an effort to grow healthy heart issue. The trial saw positive outcomes for most of the recipients  (Mayo.edu, 2015).

The Northwestern University has a long running research project aimed at examining the potential of stem cells to rebuild damaged hearts. The most recent clinical trial involved using patients who had severe cardiac illness and giving them a stem cells transplant of their own purified stem cells. Six months after the transplant, the patients who received the stem cells had less instances of angina and were able to exercise longer than the control group (Northwestern.edu, 2015). 

A new method for delivering the stem cells to a damaged heart has also been tested recently, with positive results. The preliminary study found that the new method was safe and feasible for the 48 heart failure patients that were treated. A year after being treated, on average the patients showed an improvement in the condition of their heart. The new treatment infused the stem cells into the heart via the coronary sinus vein. It allowed the researchers to give the heart muscle a bigger dose of stem cells (Newsmax, 2015).

A recent study from the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine found that combining different types of stem cells may improve outcomes. A combination of c-kit+ cardiac stem cells (CSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) improved cardiac performance after a heart attack (Karantalis et al., 2015).  

The ground-breaking study was published November 2, 2015 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and represented the first time a combined approach had been attempted. The animal trial involved large animals that received a stem cell treatment within three months of having a heart attack.

Given the impact that heart disease has on the population, doctors are particularly interested in finding more effective treatments in the near future. Umbilical cord blood stem cells could be the key to finding innovative new treatments in the future.

Sources

Ballen KK, e. (2015). Umbilical cord blood transplantation: the first 25 years and beyond.  – PubMed – NCBI. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 6 November 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23673863

Bastiaan C du Pré, L. (2013). Stem cells for cardiac repair: an introduction. Journal Of Geriatric Cardiology : JGC, 10(2), 186. http://dx.doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1671-5411.2013.02.003 

Corcell. (2015). Diseases Treated | Cord Blood Storage | CorCell. CorCell. Retrieved 11 October 2015, from corcell.com/benefits-of-umbilical-cord-blood/diseases-treated/ 

Karantalis, V., Suncion-Loescher, V., Bagno, L., Golpanian, S., Wolf, A., & Sanina, C. et al. (2015). Synergistic Effects of Combined Cell Therapy for Chronic Ischemic Cardiomyopathy. Journal Of The American College Of Cardiology, 66(18), 1990-1999. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2015.08.879 

Heartfoundation.org.au,. (2015). Heart attack. Retrieved 6 November 2015, from heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/cardiovascular-conditions/Pages/heart-attack.aspx

Mayo.edu,. (2015). Regenerating heart tissue through stem cell therapy – Discovery’s Edge: Mayo Clinic’s Online Research Magazine – Mayo Clinic Research. Retrieved 7 November 2015, from mayo.edu/research/discoverys-edge/regenerating-heart-tissue-stem-cell-therapy

Newsmax,. (2015). New Stem Cell Tactic Shows Promise for Heart Failure. Retrieved 7 November 2015, from http://www.newsmax.com/Health/Health-News/heart-failure-stem-cells/2015/07/30/id/659689/ 

Northwestern.edu,. (2015). Adult Stem Cells May Improve Cardiac Function in Angina Patients: Northwestern University News. Retrieved 7 November 2015, from http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2011/07/stem-cells-angina.html 

Who.int,. (2015). WHO | The top 10 causes of death. Retrieved 6 November 2015, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index2.html

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