When the human body experiences a heart attack, the organ deteriorates irreversibly. The human body has only a low capacity for repairing the tissue that expires.
This is unlike the heart of the zebrafish, which is able to regenerate the tissues that make up the heart muscle within a month of a heart injury.
In a new report published by scientists at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, a “genetic switch” has been identified as the reason behind the zebrafish’s ability to heal itself.
The gene in question, known as Klf1, has been identified in red blood cells. In zebrafish, it changes the metabolic wiring of uninjured heart muscle cells. This process of dedifferentiation allows the cells to divide and create new cells, thus replacing the dead tissue.
Interestingly, the study found the gene activated only in the case of heart injury. It does not play a part in the early development of the heart.
It is this “switch” which medical scientists are hoping to replicate to enable the human body to regenerate the heart, after a heart attack.
If the switch can be successfully triggered, new treatments will revolutionise health outcomes for heart attack patients and sufferers of other heart diseases.
To consult the findings of the study in full, visit https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6538/201.