Japan Performs World’s First Heart Surgery Using Commercially Available iPS Stem Cell Sheets

A hospital in Japan has performed what has been described as the world’s first surgery using commercially available heart muscle stem cell sheets, marking a new step in regenerative treatment for patients with serious heart disease.

The procedure was carried out on Tuesday at Osaka Keisatsu Hospital, where surgeons transplanted sheets of muscle cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) into the heart of a woman in her 50s. The operation lasted about one hour.

The surgery followed Japan’s conditional government approval of the regenerative therapy in March. Surgeon Yoshiki Sawa, head of Osaka Keisatsu Hospital, said the immediate hope was to improve the patient’s quality of life.

The treatment was developed for patients with ischemic heart disease, a condition in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the heart and can damage heart muscle. Earlier trials involving eight patients reportedly found that all experienced an improvement in symptoms, while four recorded improved heart function.

Sawa developed the technology in collaboration with Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries involving iPS cells. These cells can be generated by reprogramming mature specialised cells into a state in which they can develop into different cell types.

The therapy is primarily intended for heart patients who have exhausted other treatment options. Researchers hope the transplanted cells can improve heart muscle function and, in turn, help reduce heart failure symptoms while improving cardiac performance and exercise capacity.

Sawa’s team plans to perform similar procedures on 75 patients by 2033 as researchers continue evaluating the treatment’s effectiveness and safety. Japanese media reported that the therapy is expected to undergo further assessment before full approval can be considered.

Japan has also conditionally approved another iPS-cell-based treatment for Parkinson’s disease, involving the transplantation of cells into the brain. The developments highlight the country’s continuing efforts to move regenerative medicine from clinical research towards wider medical use.