First biological pacemaker created by transplanting gene into hearts.
The contraction of cardiac muscle is initiated by electrical impulses. The cells that create these rhythmical impulses are called pacemaker cells, and they directly control the heart rate. They are located in the sinoatrial node (SA node), positioned on the wall of the right atrium, near the entrance of the superior vena cava, and they are modified cardiomyocyte.
Patients with irregular heartbeats or blockages often need an artificial pacemaker to replace the heart's defective pacemaker duties. But now, cardiologists from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, CA, have created a gene transplant procedure that transforms heart cells into a biological pacemaker that regulates the heart's beating.
For their study, the team injected laboratory pigs that had complete heart block with a gene called TBX18, through a minimally invasive procedure using a catheter. On the very next day, the team observed that the pigs who received the gene had "significantly" faster heartbeats, compared with the pigs who did not receive the gene, and this stronger heartbeat remained throughout the entire 14-day study.
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