Scientists make beating cardiac cells inside the heart (USA)

Beating heart muscle can be converted quickly and efficiently from other cardiac cells by directly injecting three genes into areas damaged by a heart attack, according to researchers at the J. David Gladstone Institutes. The research, published online by the journal Nature, could transform the treatment of heart attacks since heart muscle doesn't naturally regenerate. What's more, the method could sidestep the use of stem cells to regenerate heart muscle, a field led by San Francisco-based Gladstone. "We're not necessarily using stem cells but we're taking advantage of controlling the fate of cells and reprogramming them into whatever we want," said Dr. Deepak Srivastava, director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease. "No cells are ever taken out or put in," he said. The new technique - using three genes called Gata4, Mef2c ad Tbx5, which play roles in forming and developing the heart - was successful in lab mice, Srivastava said