Repairing Blood Vessels With Stem Cells
News of the latest technology demonstration from Advanced Cell Technology: "hemangioblast precursor cells derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells can be used to achieve vascular repair ... When the cells were injected into animals that had damage to their retina due to diabetes or ischemia-reperfusion injury (lack of adequate blood flow) of the retina, the cells homed to the site of injury and showed robust reparative function of the entire damaged vasculature within 24-48 hours. The cells showed a similar regenerative capacity in animal models of both myocardial infarction (50% reduction in mortality rate) and hind limb ischemia, with restoration of blood flow to near normal levels. ... These cells were able to generate functional blood vessels in the presence of severe tissue injury, as well as in chronic disease states. These cells have a robust vascular reparative ability under what is typically considered very adverse growth conditions making them potentially ideal for treatment of diabetic vascular complications where profound tissue compromise exists and healing is typically severely compromised."