One of Michigan State University’s most significant medical breakthroughs happened somewhat by chance when researchers discovered the cancer-fighting properties of platinum in 1965. This led to the breakthrough use of cisplatin, one of the world’s most widely used cancer-fighting drugs that continues to change lives to this day.
Today, medical breakthroughs from labs at MSU don’t happen by chance. They’re the result of the intentional collaborative culture among researchers at the university, access to specialized facilities and equipment that accelerate discovery, and partnerships that deliver research to real patients.
Many of those breakthroughs wouldn’t be possible without federal funding. Not just an investment in science, it’s an investment in people’s lives and futures, and it keeps the nation at the forefront of medical innovation. From artificial intelligence tools that detect disease earlier to probiotics that strengthen bones to tiny synthetic hearts that help test new cardiovascular therapies, Spartan researchers work every day to shape a healthier future for all.
Tiny beating hearts could create life-changing treatments
Congenital heart defects affect 1% of all newborns. Certain conditions carried by the mother such as obesity, diabetes, infections or drug use can increase risk even further. First created at MSU in 2020 and now featuring exciting advancements in their development, patented synthetic human-like hearts allow researchers to study human heart development and congenital heart disease on highly accurate models.
Similar in size and development to fetal human hearts, these mini heart organoids are becoming increasingly complex and realistic. Funding for the development of mini hearts has come, in part, from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
According to Aitor Aguirre, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and chief of the Division of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology in MSU’s Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, synthetic human mini hearts can facilitate the development of new therapies and pharmaceutical drugs to treat a variety of heart-related diseases.
“Although 90% of cardiovascular disease is thought to be preventable, it has become the leading cause of death in the developed world,” Aguirre says. The mini hearts, he adds, will revolutionize medical approaches to treatment and prevention because researchers will be able to understand the mechanisms of diseases.
Since 2020, the hearts have become even more realistic.
“There are still technological advancements that we can include to make the synthetic hearts even more similar to the human heart,” Aguirre says. And he and his team are hard at work creating more advanced models. They have created mini hearts with immune cells — research he hopes will be published by the end of 2025. These more advanced hearts will allow Aguirre and his team to study diseases like endocarditis, pericarditis and myocarditis.
Aguirre’s long-term goal is to create fetal and adult models of the human heart for research, therapy and technology development. These models, according to Aguirre, will enable a new era of treatments for cardiovascular conditions in children and adults.
Read more about Aitor Aguirre's research.
Original story by Liam Boylan-Pett courtesy of MSUToday
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