It often begins with intense chest pain, a squeezing or tight feeling in the center of the breastbone, which can radiate to the arms (especially the left), jaw, neck, or back, accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, paleness, nausea, or anxiety. A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is a life-threatening emergency caused by a blockage of a coronary artery. Deprived of oxygen, the heart begins to die. Every minute counts. In the hospital, medical care restores blood flow before a recovery period begins. This recovery period could be optimized like never before thanks to a revolutionary injection capable of regenerating the heart.
After a heart attack, the heart and its tissues are damaged. Dead cells form lesions, the ability to pump blood diminishes, and mechanical stress is placed on the organ. In the following weeks, new cells and blood vessels partially form. Scar tissue is formed by a type of cell called fibroblasts. Within a few weeks, the heart changes shape and structure. While the scar tissue replaces the destroyed muscle, it cannot contract, preventing the heart from pumping properly. Even if the patient survived the initial heart attack, heart failure can eventually develop, putting them at risk again. Currently, there is no therapy that can reverse this effect.
Boosting the heart's defense systems
Only one hormone, naturally produced by the heart, could make a difference. Called atrial natriuretic factor (ANP), it has the ability to act on the scar tissue that forms on the organ. Unfortunately, this hormone, produced only in small quantities, doesn't make a significant difference in the recovery process. To ensure that ANP is produced in sufficient quantities, researchers at the University of Texas came up with the idea of creating an injection capable of stimulating its production. Using messenger RNA, the technique made famous by Covid vaccines, the injection provides the body with the necessary instructions to produce more of the hormone. This is equivalent to boosting the heart's defense systems" explains Dr. Ke Huang, assistant professor at the University of Texas and co-author of the study. The body already uses atrial natriuretic factors as a protective tool. We simply help it produce enough of them during the critical recovery period.. »
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Like a classic vaccine
So far, this injection has been tested on mouse models and pigs. In pigs, the heart's morphology is very similar to that of humans. With a single injection, researchers observed an effect lasting approximately four weeks. Cardiac function improves, fibrosis (scarring) decreases, and cell regeneration is stimulated. Specifically, the injection itself does not contain a hormone. Once administered via a muscle, like a conventional vaccine, the genetic molecule called sa-RNA (for "self-amplifying RNA") enters the muscle cells. These cells receive the genetic instructions to produce the ANP hormone, which is then released into the bloodstream before acting on the heart for several weeks by activating the NPR1 receptor, which triggers the biological pathways involved in heart repair.
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At this stage, it's impossible to imagine a ready-made injection in hospitals, to be administered after patients have been operated on. But that is precisely what researchers are aiming for in the long term. Our goal is to protect the heart when it is most vulnerable" explains Dr. Huang. If we can alleviate the stress experienced beforehand and support heart repair, we could allow patients to have a completely different recovery trajectory."For the time being, the team plans to continue working on the product's safety. Only if new studies show satisfactory results will a clinical trial in humans be able to begin."
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