Stem Cells Renew Heart Function in Primates with Cardiac Failure

Researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, have used human embryonic stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) to restore heart function in macaque monkeys with heart failure. The researchers hope that their achievement could pave the way for development of a similar treatment for human patients.The macaque studies showed that the transplanted hESC-CMs developed into ventricular myocytes and formed electromechanical junctions with the animals’ own heart tissue, resulting