UW-Madison Heart Stem Cell Study Among Top Research Advances

By University of Wisconsin Madison
January 22, 2010

Madison, Wisconsin - In 2009, a group of cardiovascular researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health proved that functional human heart muscle cells can be produced from genetically reprogrammed skin cells.

Beating heart cells induced from skin cells

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the discovery was one of the 10 most important research advances for cardiovascular disease and stroke for the year.

Timothy Kamp, MD, PhD, FACC, a UW professor of medicine, in collaboration with stem cell pioneer James Thomson, DVM, PhD, led the team that demonstrated that human induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells could be differentiated into contracting cardiac cells. The team's findings raise the possibility that a patient's own skin cells could someday be used to repair damaged heart tissue.

"It's certainly an honor to have our research recognized by an organization devoted to the same goal we are-keeping patients' hearts healthy," says Dr. Kamp. "Much more research is needed before this type of stem cell can be used clinically, but there is significant promise that these cells may provide a powerful new treatment for heart failure and other degenerative diseases of the heart.”