Italian researchers synthesised a new molecule, called Hbr, capable of regenerating the heart immediately after a heart attack thus improving the effectiveness of the subsequent stem cell transplantation. The study on this compound, just published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, was coordinated by Carlo Ventura, director of the laboratory for molecular biology and stem cell bioengineering of the National Institute for Biostructures and Biosystems (Inbb) in the Cardiovascular Department of the University of Bologna and of the Bioscience Institute of San Marino; the study was conducted thanks to a public-private partnership in collaboration with the Bioscience Institute – Cell Factory, a centre for autologous cryoconservation of adipose tissue and umbilical cord stem cells, with Vincenzo Lionetti and Fabio Recchia of the Clinical Physiology Institute of the Italian National Research Institution (Cnr) and of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and with Gianandrea Pasquinelli of the Haematology, Oncology and Clinical Pathology department of the University of Bologna.
This revolutionary compound, containing hyaluronic acid, butyric acid and retinoic acid, is able to immediately stop the heart cell mortality caused by the heart attack and stimulate the creation of new coronary vessels as well as the recruitment of endogenous stem cells. Moreover, it can orientate the in vitro differentiation of adult stem cells into cardiomyocytes which will be in the transplantation. Therefore, after an Hbr injection, a transplantation of autologous lab-cultured stem cells treated ex-vivo with the same molecule could be performed thus increasing the long-term potential of the cardiac repair. The molecule synthesised by the Italian researchers was able to regenerate rats’ hearts after an experimental heart attack with intracardiac injection, preserving the vitality of the myocardial tissue until the stem cell transplantation. Hbr administration induced the formation of new coronary vessels and substantially reduced both heart cell mortality and the extension of the infarct scar, bringing the metabolic order of the myocardial tissue back to normal. Hbr also stimulated the “recruitment” of endogenous bone marrow stem cells towards the infarct area.
The possible use of Hbr as a cardiovascular repair agent opens new perspectives for regenerative medicine. The hope that stem cells might regenerate damaged hearts is reinforced by the use of this new compound. Until now, the scarce vitality of stem cells and the uncertainty of their in vivo survival prevented them from being used for this pathology. Moreover, it takes time to multiply these cells ex vivo before the transplantation and therefore the stem cell implantation can be delayed by a few weeks during which the myocardial damage, due to the already formed infarct scar, compromises the heart contractility. A prompt intracardiac injection of Hbr could provide immediate and lasting help by rapidly transforming the hostile ischemic tissue into a “context” more incline to the recruitment of endogenous stem cells. The transplantation of adult stem cells treated with the same molecule could follow.