Skin cells turned into heart, brain cells

WASHINGTON: Scientists,have transformed skin cells into heart and brain cells using a cocktail of chemicals, a breakthrough that may help regenerate lost or damaged cells in future with pharmaceutical drugs.

In two studies, scientists, led by Sheng Ding from Gladstone Institutes in the US, used a chemical combination to gradually coax skin cells to change into organ-specific stem cell-like cells and, ultimately, into heart or brain cells. “This method brings us closer to being able to generate new cells at the site of injury in patients,” said Ding.

“Our hope is to one day treat diseases like heart failure or Parkinson’s disease with drugs that help the heart and brain regenerate damaged areas from their own existing tissue cells. “This process is much closer to the natural regeneration that happens in animals like newts and salamanders, which has long fascinated us,” Ding said.