UC Davis researchers find evidence of mature heart cell potential in embryonic ...(ntract in response to those signals. Thi...),Health

Date:11/27/2007

ntract in response to those signals. This link, called the excitation-contraction coupling, is dependent on the cells ability to move calcium ions across an internal organelle known as sarcoplasmic reticulum, or the so-called calcium store. The ability to handle calcium is disrupted in the cells of patients who experience heart failure. For future stem-cell based therapies to work, scientists will need to have heart cells that exhibit mature excitation-contraction coupling.

Until now, researchers studying heart cells (also called cardiomyocytes) derived from human embryonic stem cells have been unable to find evidence of functional calcium stores. Li found protein functions that are involved in the early stages of this coupling process. He and his colleagues now plan to move on and engineer the calcium-handling properties in order to enhance contractile properties in cardiomyocytes for both improved safety and functional efficacy.

In the current study, Li and his colleagues took human embryonic stem cells and grew them in cultures, allowing them to differentiate, or develop, into heart cells. Once they had these tiny, pulsing masses, the investigators energized the cells with small amounts of electrical current and chemicals, including caffeine. They then measured how the amount of intracellular calcium changed and looked for the presence of proteins and cellular structures known to be involved in excitation-contraction coupling.

Li and his colleagues are the first to find evidence of the functional calcium stores for excitation-contraction coupling, They also found four of the seven key proteins that play key roles in handling calcium in the cell, as well as functional sarcoplasmic reticulum.

The UC Davis researchers used different cell lines than those utilized in previous studies, which they say may explain why they were able to achieve a breakthrough in their investigation where others had not.

'/>"/>

Contact: Charles Casey charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9048 University of California - Davis - Health System Source:Eurekalert

0 GOOD

Page: 1 2 3
Related medicine news :

1. S.C. BlueCross Creates Corporate Planning Unit, Promotes Davis to Vice President
2. ABC TV San Francisco Features Canine Cancer Research Story: Saving Our Dogs, Helping Humans Beat Cancer - Work at Morris Animal Foundation, UC-Davis
3. After Dropping 162 Pounds, Jodi Davis Inspires Other Michigan Women to Get Moving and Lose Weight Through WalkyTalk.com(TM)
4. Stanford researchers find culprit in aging muscles that heal poorly
5. UCLA researchers identify markers that may predict diabetes in still-healthy people
6. Mayo Clinic researchers discover new diagnostic test for detecting infection in prosthetic joints
7. Bipolar disorder relapses halved by Melbourne researchers
8. Cell that triggers symptoms in allergy attacks can also limit damage, Stanford researchers find
9. High and mighty: first common height gene identified by researchers behind obesity gene finding
10. Researchers estimate about 9 percent of US children age 8 to 15 meet criteria for having ADHD
11. Majority of 2.4 Million U.S. Children With ADHD Not Diagnosed or Consistently Treated, According to New Gold Standard Study by Cincinnati Childrens Researchers