Scientists make progress in biological pacemaker development

A team from the US has found a relatively simple way of creating biological pacemakers using ordinary heart cells.

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute researchers have found that it is possible to reprogramme heart cells to become exact replicas of highly specialised pacemaker cells by injecting a single gene, Tbx18.

Pacemaker cells generate electrical activity that spreads to other heart cells in an orderly pattern to create rhythmic muscle contractions, but there is only a limited quantity of them within the heart, meaning they need to be replaced with electronic devices if damaged.

However, using this new technique, it has been shown to be surprisingly easy to create replacement cells that replicate the distinctive features and functions of native pacemaker cells, both in lab cell reprogramming and guinea pig studies.

Dr Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, said: "This is the culmination of 10 years of work in our laboratory to build a biological pacemaker as an alternative to electronic pacing devices."

Having a pacemaker fitted is one of the most common types of heart surgery, with more than 40,000 people having one implanted in England in 2010.