Lab-created heart valves can grow with the recipient
March 18, 2021 — A groundbreaking new study from Department of Biomedical Engineering researchers shows for the first time that lab-created heart valves implanted in young lambs for a year were capable of growth within the recipient. The valves also showed reduced calcification and improved blood flow function compared to animal-derived valves currently used when tested in the same growing lamb model.
If confirmed in humans, these new heart valves could prevent the need for repeated valve replacement surgeries in thousands of children born each year with congenital heart defects. The valves can also be stored for at least six months, which means they could provide surgeons with an “off the shelf” option for treatment.
“This is a huge step forward in pediatric heart research,” said Robert Tranquillo, the senior researcher on the study and a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. “This is the first demonstration that a valve implanted into a large animal model, in our case a lamb, can grow with the animal into adulthood. We have a way to go yet, but this puts us much farther down the path to future clinical trials in children. We are excited and optimistic about the possibility of this actually becoming a reality in years to come.”
The study was led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers from both the College of Science and Engineering and the Medical School. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine, an interdisciplinary medical journal by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The valve-making procedure has also been patented and licensed to the University of Minnesota startup company Vascudyne, Inc. (Stillwater, Minn.).
