Study of Human Heart Tissue and Cells in Children and Young Adults Up to 20 Years Undergoing Heart Surgery to Understand Heart Cell Development and Function

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are investigating how calcium ions move through the membranes of heart cells to regulate the strength of heart contractions. This study focuses on differences between newborn and adult heart cells, examining proteins and RNA to understand how infant heart cells control contraction differently. The research also explores developing advanced 3D cardiac cell models to better represent heart cell behavior using human stem cell-derived heart cells. The study includes collecting cardiac tissue and cells from patients undergoing heart surgery, particularly for congenital heart defects like ventricular septal defects or valve problems. Researchers will analyze developmental differences in electrical currents and calcium regulation in atrial and ventricular cells from infants, young adults, and adults. Additionally, they will study how 3D cardiac spheres combined with environmental signals can improve maturation of lab-grown heart cells. Participants will provide heart tissue during surgery, which will then be used for various laboratory analyses including measuring calcium currents and cell function. The study will monitor changes in heart cell maturation over time, lasting up to 13 years for calcium current measures and up to 3 years for stem cell-derived heart cell maturation. This observational study involves detailed cellular, molecular, and functional assessments to better understand heart development and disease.

Molecular and Cellular Characterization of Cardiac Tissue in Postnatal Development