Beating heart tissue produced in laboratories

sea-maid submitted, created time 6 months 4 weeks (www.nature.com)

An international team of researchers has used stem cells to create heart tissue, complete with beat. By treating embryonic stem cells with growth factors, they coaxed them into becoming cardiovascular progenitor cells, which then developed into cardiomyocytes, vascular smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells, which together form blood vessels. When injected into the hearts of mice with induced heart disease, they improve heart function.

What this discovery does not include is fibroblasts, the cells that form the framework of the heart.

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