A new study from researchers at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center has found evidence to support that an anticancer agent could help regenerate damaged heart muscle, a finding that can prevent congestive heart failure.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, builds off work by Lawrence Lum, MD, an associate professor of cell biology at Dallas-based UT Southwestern. He has developed a cancer drug that targets Wnt signaling molecules, ones essential for tissue regeneration.

Wnt cells are partly produced by the porcupine enzyme, an inhibitor the researchers studied.

"We saw many predictable adverse effects in bone and hair for example, but one surprise was that the number of dividing cardiomyocytes was slightly increased," Lum said in a statement. "In addition to the intense interest in porcupine inhibitors as anticancer agents, this research shows that such agents could be useful in regenerative medicine."

In initial trials, researchers induced heart attacks in mice and then treated them with a porcupine inhibitor, which allowed their hearts to pump blood better compared to untreated mice. Additionally, treated mice had reduced levels of fibrosis and scarring in their hearts.

"Our lab has been studying heart repair for several years, and it was striking to see that administration of a Wnt inhibitor significantly improved heart function following a heart attack in mice," said Rhonda Bassel-Duby, MD, a professor of molecular biology and the associate director of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, in a statement.

Though the porcupine inhibitor can be used to treat a patient who just suffered a heart attack, Lum advised that it shouldn’t be used too long because unpleasant side effects from the cancer drug could arise.

"We hope to advance a Porcn inhibitor into clinical testing as a regenerative agent for heart disease within the next year," Lum said.