Scientists have for the first time highlighted the natural regenerative capacity of a group of stem cells that reside in the heart.
Researchers at King's College London found that these cells are responsible for repairing and regenerating muscle tissue damaged by a heart attack which leads to heart failure.
The study showed that if the stem cells are eliminated, the heart is unable to repair after damage.
If the cardiac stem cells are replaced the heart repairs itself, leading to complete cellular, anatomical and functional heart recovery, with the heart returning to normal and pumping at a regular rate.
Also, if the cardiac stem cells are removed and re-injected, they naturally 'home' to and repair the damaged heart, a discovery that could lead to less-invasive treatments and even early prevention of heart failure in the future.
"In a healthy heart the quantity of cardiac stem cells is sufficient to repair muscle tissue in the heart. However, in damaged hearts many of these cells cannot multiply or produce new muscle tissue," said Dr Georgina Ellison, the first author of the paper and Professor Bernardo Nadal-Ginard, the study's corresponding author.
"In these cases it could be possible to replace the damaged cardiac stem cells or add new ones by growing them in the laboratory and administering them intravenously," they said.
"Understanding the role and potential of cardiac stems cells could pave the way for a variety of new ways to prevent and treat heart failure," Ellison added.
"These new approaches involve maintaining or increasing the activity of cardiac stem cells so that muscle tissue in the heart can be renewed with new heart cells, replacing old cells or those damaged by wear and tear.
"The cardiac stem cells naturally home to the heart because the heart is their home - they know to go there. Current practices involve major operations such as injection through the heart's muscle wall (intramyocardial) or coronary vessels (intracoronary).
"The homing mechanism shown by our research could lead to a less invasive treatment whereby cardiac stem cells are injected through a vein in the skin (intravenously)," she said.
"Although an early study, our findings are very promising. Next steps include clinical trials, due to start early 2014, aimed at assessing the effectiveness of cardiac stem cells for preventing and treating heart failure in humans," Nadal-Ginard added.
The study was published in the journal Cell.
