Cited 2 times since 2022 (1.1 per year) source: EuropePMC Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation, Volume 31, Issue 1, 27 4 2022, Pages 16-20 The Netherlands Heart Tissue Bank : Strengthening the cardiovascular research infrastructure with an open access Cardiac Tissue Repository. Henkens MTHM, van Ast JF, Te Riele ASJM, Houweling AC, Amin AS, Nijveldt R, Antoni ML, Li X, Wehrens SMT, von der Thüsen JH, Damman K, Ter Horst EN, Manintveld OC, Abma-Schouten RY, Niessen HWM, Silljé HHW, Jukema JW, Doevendans PA
Aim
Cardiac diseases remain a leading cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) related hospitalisation and mortality. That is why research to improve our understanding of pathophysiological processes underlying cardiac diseases is of great importance. There is a strong need for healthy and diseased human cardiac tissue and related clinical data to accomplish this, since currently used animal and in vitro disease models do not fully grasp the pathophysiological processes observed in humans. This design paper describes the initiative of the Netherlands Heart Tissue Bank (NHTB) that aims to boost CVD-related research by providing an open-access biobank.
Methods
The NHTB, founded in June 2020, is a non-profit biobank that collects and stores biomaterial (including but not limited to myocardial tissue and blood samples) and clinical data of individuals with and without previously known cardiac diseases. All individuals aged ≥ 18 years living in the Netherlands are eligible for inclusion as a potential future donor. The stored samples and clinical data will be available upon request for cardiovascular researchers.
Conclusion
To improve the availability of cardiac tissue for cardiovascular research, the NHTB will include extensive (cardiac) biosamples, medical images, and clinical data of donors with and without a previously known cardiac disease. As such, the NHTB will function as a translational bridge to boost a wide range of cardiac disease-related fundamental and translational studies.
