Rebuilding blood vessels
The Research: Umbilical cord blood cells and embryonic mice cells were injected into collagen gel and implanted into the brains of living mice. New blood vessels formed within seven days and lasted up to 119 days. The engineered blood vessels could carry the same amount of blood at about the same speed as natural vessels. Additionally, no leaking was detected.
Advantages: Networks of blood vessels grown from umbilical cord blood cells are denser and last longer than those grown from adult blood cells. Umbilical cord blood vessels also avoid irregular blood flow and leakages, which are two major problems of immature blood vessels.
Why It Matters: Developing strong blood vessels is an important part for tissue engineering. Weak vessels could result in hemorrhage and vulnerability to infections. The vessels also need to be long lasting and integrate well with existing blood vessels.
Next Steps: Umbilical cords have a lot of potential for engineering new tissue but further research on durability, function and longevity is needed.
"Differential in vivo potential of endothelial progenitor cells from human umbilical cord blood and adult peripheral blood to form functional long-lasting vessels"
