Gene therapy creates ‘biological pacemaker’ cells for the heart

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Researchers have succeeded in turning ordinary cardiac muscle cells into specialized ones that deliver a steady heartbeat using a gene therapy procedure they predict could become an alternative to implanted electronic pacemakers.     A study published on Wednesday involved pigs with a condition called heart block that makes their hearts beat too slowly. By injecting a human gene into a tiny region of the heart’s pumping chambers roughly the size of a peppercorn, the researchers reprogrammed heart muscle cells into a type of cell that emits electrical impulses to drive the beating heart.     In doing so, cardiologists at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles created “biological pacemaker” cells that restored a normal heart rate in the pigs. The procedure achieved the same result as implanting an electronic pacemaker that sends electrical pulses to the heart if it beats too slowly or skips a beat.     “This development heralds a new era of gene therapy where genes are used not only to correct a deficiency disorder but actually to convert one type of cell into another to treat disease,” Dr. Eduardo Marbán, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and leader of the research team, told reporters.     The researchers noted that pig hearts are very similar to human hearts.