How the science behind COVID-19 vaccines could transform care for heart attack patients
An advanced technique found in COVID-19 vaccines may help repair heart damage caused by myocardial infarctions (MIs), according to new research out of the Netherlands.
The findings were presented as part of Frontiers in CardioVascular Biomedicine 2022, a scientific congress hosted by the European Society of Cardiology in Budapest, Hungary. Clara Labonia, MD, MSc, a specialist with the Sluijter Lab at University Medical Center Utretcht in the Netherlands, shared the research with attendees.
Labonia explained that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) to cells via lipid nanoparticles, and the mRNA signals the need for a dummy spike protein to be manufactured. This dummy protein is similar to the one associated with causing COVID-19, which means the body’s natural immune response can then help fight off a COVID-19 infection.
This same method, her team thought, could potentially help heart cells repair themselves after an MI. They tested this on mice models, injecting “different formulations” of mRNA into each mouse’s left ventricular wall during an open chest surgery. A full day later, the mRNA had successfully reached the heart cells of the mice — a clear sign of progress — but it had also entered into their livers and spleens.
“It was encouraging to see that there was mRNA translation in the heart tissue, which means that lipid nanoparticles could work as delivery systems for mRNA therapy,” Labonia said in a prepared statement. “The next step of this research is to test more formulations and choose the one which most efficiently targets the heart tissue. We will then assess whether delivery of mRNA to mice with ischemic hearts (resembling a heart attack) has any therapeutic effect.”
Additional information on Frontiers in CardioVascular Biomedicine 2022, which ran from April 29 to May 1 in Budapest, Hungary, is available here.
This same mRNA technology was the subject of a late-breaking trial at ACC 2022. The Apollo Trial evaluated the effectiveness of an mRNA drug to suppress lipoprotein(a). The small, phase 1 study found up to a 98% reduction in Lp(a), which previous was not considered a treatable risk factor.
Watch the VIDEO: Use of mRNA drug to lower lipoprotein(a) by up to 98% — Interview with Steven E. Nissen, MD. He said mRNA technology will soon be seen in many trials to treat a multitude of conditions.
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Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.