Biological heart rhythm by gene therapy

The implantation of a pacemaker into the body is a complicated, expensive and risky surgery, dangerous complication. There is another way to replace this implant, which is gene therapy.

The artificial pacemaker was first applied in 1958. To date, science has come close to applying gene therapy to overcome the limitations of implantation.

Scientists inject the gene into the pig's defective heart to convert some non-specialized heart cells into a biological pacemaker.

Partners under the leadership of Dr. Eduardo Marban, at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles (USA), have been studying for decades and have so far produced positive results.

Artwork: Gizmag / Shutterstock

The pigs selected for the experiment had a sick heart, a weak heartbeat and a sudden death. They were injected with the TBX18 gene into the heart with the least invasive procedure.

Gizmag magazine quoted a representative of Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, explaining that this way will help turn some non-specialized heart cells into sinuatrial nodal cells. These sinuatrial nodes consist of tissues that initiate electrical impulses that set a regular rhythm for the heart, which is what the artificial pacemaker is working at.

One day after receiving gene therapy, the pigs that participated in the trial had a faster beating rate than the control group. A steady, strong heartbeat lasts for 14 days, suggesting that it may be a good treatment and will be longer than the first.

At the beginning of this therapy, Dr. Marban and his colleagues thought about how to solve problems for patients who have problems with artificial pacemaker transplants. Then, through many studies in different ways, they believed that long-term biological treatment was found. This method can also be applied to children who are still fetuses in the womb, obviously too small to be able to receive mechanical implants.

This article on gene therapy research has been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Human clinical studies may begin within the next three years.