The researcher, Kenneth Chien, M.D., Ph.D., of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Massachusetts General “urged caution in interpreting these findings, which he said lay the groundwork for future studies.”

The researcher warns that he does “not want this to come off as hype.”  He adds that they are far away from any clinical trials.

Medpage Today/Nature

“The earliest master stem cells that form the three major cell types in the human heart have been identified and isolated, researchers said. (Emphasis added)

“This is a very simple, but very important and fundamental finding,” according to Kenneth Chien, MD, PhD, of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who led the effort. (Emphasis added)

“Reporting online in Nature, he and his colleagues described the process of isolating and purifying islet progenitor cells — called ISL1+ progenitors — from human embryonic stem cells.

“These cells expand and then differentiate into heart muscle, smooth muscle, and endothelial cells during early cardiogenesis, a process that hadn’t been well understood previously, according to Dr. Chien. (Emphasis added)

He said the findings could have clinical implications in the future, particularly in the treatment of congenital heart disease, the regeneration and repair of damaged tissue following myocardial infarction, and the development of a human model to study heart disease and the effects of medications. (Emphasis added)

“It would be empowering to have human models of human cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Chien said.

Source: Medpage Today, July 6, 2009

Citation: Nature,460,113-117 (2 July 2009)