Stem cell therapy grows new blood vessels
Xinhua (OTTAWA, April 7)
Researchers at the University of Western Ontario have identified how to use selected stem cells from bone marrow to grow new blood vessels to treat diseases such as peripheral artery disease, according to a study published in Blood on Monday.
Peripheral artery disease is one of the severe complications often faced by people who have had diabetes for a long time. Reduced blood flow in their limbs can lead to resting pain, trouble with wound healing and in severe cases, amputation.
The research team drew human bone marrow and simultaneously isolated three different types of stem cells that co-ordinate together to form new blood vessels. These are called pro-angiogenic stem cells. They were purified to remove any inflammatory or contaminated cells, and then injected into the circulation of mice which had one of their leg arteries ligated and removed.
The study showed how these stem cells have a natural ability to home in on the area of ischemia to induce blood vessel repair and improve blood flow.
The process is clinically-applicable because they studied the function of human stem cells in immune-deficient mice, said the researchers.
"We can select the right stem cells from the patient's own bone marrow and put them back in the area of ischemia to allow these cells to coordinate the formation of new blood vessels, said lead researcher David Hess.
"These principles could be applied not only to ischemic limbs, but to aid in the formation of new blood vessels in ischemic tissue anywhere in the body, for example after a stroke or heart attack, he added.
