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Human arteries grown from scratch
New Delhi, June 12: Human arteries have been grown from scratch in the laboratory. The technique can produce spare blood vessels for bypass surgery, says a report in `Nature News Service`.
New Delhi, June 12: Human arteries have been grown from scratch in the laboratory. The technique can produce spare blood vessels for bypass surgery, says a report in ‘Nature News Service’.
In bypass operations, surgeons use vessels from other parts of the body to circumvent blockages. These grafts often get clogged again, but after several operations patients run out of useable replacements.
The new procedure could grow a stockpile of donor-matched arteries, the report says quoting Laura Niklason from Duke University Medical Center, Durham in North Carolina. So far, her team has harvested four arteries, each 8 centimetres long and 3 millimetres across.
First, they encourage ordinary human muscle cells to multiply and then they add a gene called Htert to make them live longer. Next, they seed the cells on a hose-shaped scaffold of biodegradable polymer. After 2 months, the support dissolves leaving a "dense, muscular, tubular structure," says Niklason.
Lining cells are then dropped inside to complete the artificial artery. The scientists still need to determine whether such vessels are safe and if they can withstand millions of cycles of the heart pumping, the report says.
If all goes well cardiac patients might not be the only ones to profit, according to the report. Every year, thousands of patients have leg bypass surgery as an alternative to amputation and lab-reared arteries could connect kidney patients to dialysis machines.
Bureau Report
The new procedure could grow a stockpile of donor-matched arteries, the report says quoting Laura Niklason from Duke University Medical Center, Durham in North Carolina. So far, her team has harvested four arteries, each 8 centimetres long and 3 millimetres across.
First, they encourage ordinary human muscle cells to multiply and then they add a gene called Htert to make them live longer. Next, they seed the cells on a hose-shaped scaffold of biodegradable polymer. After 2 months, the support dissolves leaving a "dense, muscular, tubular structure," says Niklason.
Lining cells are then dropped inside to complete the artificial artery. The scientists still need to determine whether such vessels are safe and if they can withstand millions of cycles of the heart pumping, the report says.
If all goes well cardiac patients might not be the only ones to profit, according to the report. Every year, thousands of patients have leg bypass surgery as an alternative to amputation and lab-reared arteries could connect kidney patients to dialysis machines.
Bureau Report