At the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences laboratory in Lucknow, Indian researchers have for the first time successfully isolated and cultured living human heart valve interstitial cells from samples obtained during routine surgeries.
The team, led by Dr. Shantanu Pande from the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Dr. Alok Kumar from the Department of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, utilized tissue that was previously simply discarded. Instead, it was immediately transferred to biotechnologists, and real human valve cells began to grow in Petri dishes.
These cells—valve interstitial cells, or VICs—are responsible for maintaining the flexibility and strength of the valve, as well as its day-to-day repair. When they become inflamed or malfunction, the tissue thickens, calcium deposits form, and blood flow is disrupted. Culturing these cells in the laboratory allows for the observation of this process without risk to patients.
This work is particularly important for India, where rheumatic heart disease remains a serious problem. According to the source, the country accounts for 40–50% of all global cases and 30–40% of deaths from this disease. The illness often begins with a common sore throat and subsequently leads to irreversible scarring of the valves in children and young adults.
The researchers were able to trace two key signaling pathways that trigger inflammation and fibrosis: TGF-β/SMAD3 and ERK 1/2. According to Dr. Kumar, the constant activation of these pathways leads to excessive scarring and valve stiffness. Now, pharmacologists have specific molecular targets for future drugs.
The ultimate goal is the creation of fully living bioengineered valves that will grow along with a child and repair themselves. While this is a distant prospect, it requires learning how to produce billions of cells, creating suitable three-dimensional scaffolds, and verifying them in long-term clinical trials. As of today, patients are still only helped by traditional surgical methods.
The immediate practical benefit is the ability to test new compounds on laboratory models to slow the scarring process and delay the need for surgery by years or decades.
