A Dalhousie University researcher says he’s proven scar tissue in a mouse’s heart can maintain electrical functionality, contrary to what was originally thought, and it’s a finding that could have potential implications for humans.
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“For us, it’s a very exciting development,” said Alex Quinn, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, who is part of an international team that started researching the matter in 2013.
Part of the excitement, he said, is the possibility that the finding could be the same for the human heart.
“That would be huge. That would impact millions of lives, both improving treatments we already have and for creating new treatments,” Quinn said.
Scar tissue can develop after a heart attack and is believed to block electrical signals in the heart, he added.
The scars are sometimes made on purpose by a surgeon to treat certain conditions.
“The problem is, in two-thirds of patients, within a couple of months, they’re back having to have the operation again because those scars suddenly disappear,” Quinn said. “They start to have electricity pass over the scar, but scars aren’t supposed to pass electricity. No one understand why this occurs.”
The team inserted “a special protein genetically expressed in those damaged cells” in the mouse that resulted in heart scars lighting up when electricity passed through.
Quin said images showed “finger-like projections” from the scar cells that made “contact with the healthy cells” on a microscopic level.
The discovery, however, hasn’t answered the question of why some scars can connect signals while others can’t.
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Quinn said he’s particularly curious to see if human heart scars can behave the same way and if they can be manipulated to become connected.
“That means it may be, after a heart attack, possible to reduce arrhythmias and improve function,” he added.
The team is continuing its research in hopes more researchers start to look into the matter.