Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – Researchers have recently developed synthetic material has shown promise in slowing down—and even reversing—some aspects of heart ageing. This breakthrough could pave the way for treatments that restore heart function by altering the environment around heart cells, instead of targeting the cells themselves.
The study, that was published in Nature Materials, had Assistant Professor Jennifer Young from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS) as the lead. She is a researcher at the NUS Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) as well.
Researchers of the study pointed out that instead of examining the heart cells directly, the researchers ahifted their focus to the extracellular matrix (ECM)—a complex, web-like structure made of proteins and other molecules that supports heart cells and transmits chemical cues essential for their function.
As the heart ages this ECM becomes more rigid and undergoes biochemical alterations. These shifts can trigger damaging responses in heart cells, leading to tissue scarring, reduced elasticity, and overall decline in heart performance.
“Most ageing research focuses on how cells change over time,” explained Assistant Professor Young. “Our study looks instead at the ECM and how changes in this environment affect heart ageing.”
To explore this question, the researchers created a new hybrid biomaterial named DECIPHER (DECellularized In Situ Polyacrylamide Hydrogel-ECM hybrid). This material blends natural cardiac tissue with an artificial gel to accurately replicate the structure and stiffness of the
Avery Rui Sun, a PhD candidate at NUS CDE and MBI, and the lead author of the study indicated that up until now, it’s been challenging to determine whether mechanical stiffness or biochemical cues are more responsible for the deterioration, since they typically occur together.
He further indicated that the DECIPHER system addresses this issue by allowing scientists to separately adjust both the rigidity and the biochemical signals that cells are exposed to—something no earlier method involving natural tissue has managed to achieve.”
When researchers cultured old heart cells on DECIPHER scaffolds designed to replicate the biochemical signals of youthful ECM, they observed that the cells started to act more like younger ones—even though the scaffolds retained a rigid structure. Further analysis revealed widespread changes in gene expression, involving thousands of genes linked to ageing and cellular function.
Conversely, when young heart cells were placed on scaffolds mimicking the biochemical environment of aged ECM, the cells began to display functional problems—even if the material itself was still soft.
Assistant Professor Young stated that this indicated that for aged heart cells, the chemical surroundings play a bigger role than mechanical stiffness, while young cells respond to both.
She further pointed out that even when the tissue remained extremely stiff—as is common in older hearts—the introduction of ‘youthful’ biochemical cues was enough to steer aged cells toward a healthier and more functional state. Assistant Professor Young then indicated that this points to the possibility that restoring these biochemical signals in ageing hearts could potentially reverse some of the damage and enhance heart performance over time.
She indicated that conversely, they discovered that increased stiffness can cause young heart cells to exhibit signs of early ageing. Researchers of the study indicated that this suggests that by targeting particular features of ECM ageing, they may have the ability to delay or even prevent the decline in heart function as individuals age.
Although the study is still in its early days, the researchers consider their discovery as having the ability to pave the way for a new type of therapy focused on maintaining or restoring heart health as we age —by directly targeting the extracellular matrix (ECM). They also see possibilities for this approach to be incorporated into investigating other tissues impacted by ageing and disease. As the ECM plays an essential role in regulating cell behavior throughout the body, the researchers beleive the DECIPHER technique could be extended to explore ageing and disease processes in other organs as well.
