Editor’s Summary: When a patient experiences a myocardial infarction, rapid intervention can prevent death and limit the progression of hypoxic damage, but treatment itself can worsen tissue injury due to oxidative damage in the setting of rapid reperfusion. Unfortunately, adult hearts cannot regenerate on their own, and previous attempts at inducing regeneration have been invasive, risky, or ineffective. To address this gap, Zhang et al. designed a self-amplifying RNA lipid nanoparticle to deliver the gene for atrial natriuretic peptide, a hormone that helps to maintain cardiovascular homeostasis (see the Perspective by Ervijn and Sanders). A single intramuscular injection of this treatment was safe and effective at promoting long-lasting recovery of the heart in numerous mouse and pig models of myocardial infarction, demonstrating its translational potential. —Yevgeniya Nusinovich
Check out her work here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu9394
BioTherapeutics Lab 