According to a press release on 15 October, the scientists successfully obtained one million pounds in funding from the British National Centre for the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). The NC3R supports research projects on reduction of animal testing.
For their studies, Prof. Eschenhagen and his colleagues developed heart cells from pluripotent stem cells, which are able to grow in orderly, highly organised cell groups. According to the press release, the structure of constructed cardiac tissue is very close to that of natural heart tissue. The research team intends to use the cell aggregates to examine how pharmaceuticals affect the heart muscle. The four research groups will conduct separate blinded studies to compare the suitability of different iPS tests with the new developed heart tissue.
Source and further information:
http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news607359
-
font size
decrease font size
increase font size
Thursday, 09 October 2014 20:23
Blind study on in vitro cardiotoxicity Featured
Researchers from the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) led by Prof. Thomas Eschenhagen and colleagues from the UK and the Netherlands are going to use artificial heart cells to study whether it is possible to predict side effects of pharmaceuticals on the heart. That way animal experiments could be reduced or fully eliminated.
Dr. rer. nat.
Menschen für Tierrechte - Tierversuchsgegner Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.