Japanese surgeons perform first heart operation using iPS-derived muscle cell sheets
Surgeons at Osaka Keisatsu Hospital implanted sheets of heart-muscle stem cells into a woman in her 50s, marking the world’s first use of this regenerative therapy after conditional approval.
In Osaka, surgeons at Osaka Keisatsu Hospital carried out the first clinical implantation of sheet-like heart-muscle stem cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. The hour-long surgery was performed on a woman in her 50s, whose condition reflects severe ischemic heart disease. Earlier trials involving eight patients showed reduced symptoms and functional improvement in four cases, prompting conditional government approval in March.
Yoshiki Sawa, who led the development together with Shinya Yamanaka, intends to expand the program to 75 patients by 2033, after which the therapy could receive full approval pending safety and efficacy data. The breakthrough follows Japan’s earlier conditional endorsement of an iPS-based treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Success could offer a new option for heart-failure patients lacking alternatives.
Why it matters
It demonstrates a pioneering use of stem-cell technology that could transform treatment for severe heart disease.
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