CARDIOLOGY
Why Hearts Fail continued
Cardiac tissue sections from a normal pediatric subject ( left ) and a subject with single ventricle congenital heart disease ( right ), stained for nuclei , cardiomyocytes , fibroblasts / vessels and T lymphocytes .
hypoplastic left heart syndrome ( HLHS ). HLHS is a condition where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and nonfunctional . This study generates heart muscle cells from circulating white blood cells in HLHS patients , known as human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes .
Dr . Nakano will explore three different areas with the DOD ’ s Investigator-Initiated Research Award funding . The first area is focused on better understanding the changes in HLHS heart muscle cells that predispose them to failure , which could ultimately help delay or erase the need for a heart transplant . Next , the study will investigate the effects of having low oxygen levels for an extended period of time , as many single ventricle patients are exposed to low oxygen for the first years of their life . The third part of this research will test various drug therapies by screening thousands of potential compounds to see if any improve heart muscle cell contraction .
Over the years , these Heart Institute doctors have shifted their work together from a mentor-mentee relationship to now researching side-by-side to advance this research .
“ They are brilliant scientists ,” Dr . Miyamoto says about her colleagues . “ I get more joy , and I ’ m more proud of the success they have than my own success . It just feels so much bigger to me .”
Their collaborative efforts are accelerating our understanding of why and how these young hearts fail for the smallest patients . •
1 . Garcia A , Toni L , Miyano C , et al . Cardiac Transcriptome Remodeling and Impaired Bioenergetics in Single-Ventricle Congenital Heart Disease . J Am Coll Cardiol Basic Trans Science . 2023 Mar , 8 ( 3 ) 258 – 279 . https :// doi . org / 10.1016 / j . jacbts . 2022.09.013 .
ANASTACIA “ TASHA ” GARCIA , PHD
Assistant professor , Pediatrics-Cardiology , University of Colorado School of Medicine
SHELLEY MIYAMOTO , MD
Director of the Cardiomyopathy Program , Children ’ s Hospital Colorado
Jack Cooper Millisor Chair in Pediatric Heart Disease
Professor , Pediatrics-Cardiology , University of Colorado School of Medicine
STEPHANIE NAKANO , MD
Advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist , Children ’ s Hospital Colorado
Associate professor , Pediatrics-Cardiology , University of Colorado School of Medicine
6 | CHILDREN ’ S HOSPITAL COLORADO