mRNA may help to find the cure of heart attack: Scientists
mRNA sequencing is used to create the vaccines for corona-virus, now it may be helpful to reverse the damage caused by heart attacks.
Scientists in King’s College London, UK have led to the discovery of the first cure for heart attacks. This was possible due to a technology used in developing the Corona-virus vaccine. It is called mRNA sequencing.
The human heart cannot heal itself after a cardiac arrest. But a new technique called genetic tracking, based on a similar methodology used to make Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID vaccines, can assist new heart cells in replacing the dead ones. It also booster the development of new muscle tissue instead of forming a scar
A team at King’s College London tracked genetic codes called mRNAs which are injected into the heart to produce proteins that would generate healthy heart cells, the press reported
“We are all born with a set number of muscle cells in our heart and they are exactly the same ones we will die with. Our goal has been to find a treatment that can convince surviving cells to proliferate,” lead researcher Professor Mauro Giacca was quoted as saying.
“Regenerating a damaged human heart has been a dream until a few years ago, but can now become a reality. We are using exactly the same technology as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to inject micro RNAs to the heart, reaching surviving heart cells and pushing their proliferation,” Giacca said.
Other than helping cardiac cells with regeneration, the mRNAs additionally help as a treatment to stop cells from dying during a heart attack.
Heart attacks cause nearly 1.5 crore deaths, globally. The above-mentioned discovery can help to bring that number down significantly. It has been successfully tested in pigs and the human trials are due in the next 2 years.
