Tailored heart valves that grow and regenerate

Modern medical technology enables more effective cardiac treatments

Regenerative medicine is concerned with producing living tissue or organs in the laboratory on the basis of human cells. Researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH), the Eindhoven University of Technology and the Charité Berlin are currently developing tailor-made solutions for cardiac surgery. The scientists focus on individual prostheses that grow and regenerate. Recently, the medical scientists made a major breakthrough in model experiments with sheep.

A central element of this research area is the so-called "tissue engineering", in which "spare parts" are cultivated in the test tube. In future, defective cells and tissues in the human body will also be replaced with these cultivated parts and the normal function will be restored. The living implants have significant advantages over their artificial predecessors. They do not trigger a defense reaction in the body. In addition, they grow and regenerate. The research results were recently published in the journal "Science Translational Medicine".

With living implants, which are individually adapted to the wearer, heart valve defects should be corrected soon. (Image: psdesign1 / fotolia.com)

New milestone in regenerative medicine

An international consortium, headed by UZH Professor Simon P. Hoerstrup, has now reached a new milestone in regenerative medicine. In computer simulations, researchers have succeeded in predicting how well self-bred heart valves work, grow and regenerate in sheep. "Thanks to the simulations, we can optimize the design and composition of regenerative heart valves and develop tailor-made implants for therapy," reports Hoerstrup from the Institute for Regenerative Medicine in a UZH press release.

Clinical application is imminent

These simulations are an important and indispensable step towards clinical application. According to the researchers, computer simulations predict changes in the structure of the heart valve that occur in the body during the dynamic regeneration process. Thus, the design of the heart valve can be customized. The scientists emphasize that this is an important contribution to transferring the technologies of regenerative medicine from theory to clinical application.

Today's prostheses have to be changed regularly

Heart disease and heart valve defects are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to the scientists, today's artificial heart valves are an unsatisfactory solution, especially in children with congenital heart disease. These prostheses must be constantly replaced because they do not grow with the body. The resulting surgeries increase mortality risks, which is a major psychosocial burden for young patients and their families.

Master the last hurdles

Despite promising research results and initial clinical applications, researchers still have some hurdles to overcome before the technology can be a routine clinical procedure. "One of the biggest challenges with complex implants like heart valves is that every patient has an individual regeneration potential," explains Hoerstrup. There is therefore no general solution for everyone. He and his team have been working on Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering for more than 20 years..

New study in the starting blocks

Currently, another study on the subject is being prepared at the University Children's Hospital Zurich. For the first time, children with congenital heart defects will be treated with blood vessels that have been developed under the latest standards in the areas of regenerative medicine and robotics. (Vb)