When they added the protein that the gene makes to cells grown in the laboratory, the cells ejected significantly more cholesterol. I, a protein vital to ensuring that the heart muscle contracts properly. I gene inserted into their own gene. The discovery may eventually lead to new drugs that can prevent or reverse myocardial stunning. Researchers have begun growing heart valves in the laboratory.
Heart valves regulate the flow of blood from the heart's pumping chambers.
Malfunctioning valves can cause serious disability or death. Surgeons have replaced damaged valves with either mechanical devices or specially treated and preserved pig valves, both of which have potential drawbacks. Using a technology called tissue engineering, a team of researchers reported at the 72 nd Scientific Sessions that it had grown the first complete in-vitro heart valves and implanted them in sheep, with promising early results. The team used autologous cells, which are cells derived from the blood vessel walls of the recipient sheep, to grow trileaflet pulmonary valves in a device with a chamber that simulates the flow of blood in the body. The trileaflet valve governs blood flow between the heart's right ventricle and the blood vessels leading to the lungs.