Joel Rurik: CAR-T Therapies to Reverse Cardiac Fibrosis

Injury to organs frequently results in impaired function due to the formation of scar tissue. Heart attacks and chronic high blood pressure can induce the formation of pathogenic fibroblasts, cells that lose their original function, yet maintain some structural element of the injured tissue. The formation of fibrogenic tissue affects a significant portion of the population, and contributes to decline associated with many diseases, such as congestive heart failure or liver cirrhosis. A new technology uses targeted lipid nanoparticles to reprogram T-cells to attack pathogenic fibroblasts.