VANCOUVER, CANADA — Scientists at the University of British Columbia have grown a pair human blood vessels for the first time.
Scientists used stem cells to grow organoids in a petri dish, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
The organoids were then planted in mice and had a survival rate of more than 95 percent.
The researchers observed that the organoids had developed into human blood vessels with arteries and capillaries after six months.
The research team from UBC used this same technique to study the impact of diabetes on these lab-grown blood vessels, according to New Atlas.
Diabetes causes the membrane that surrounds the blood vessels to expand and decreases the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to the cells and tissue.
This in turn increases the risk of health problems such as heart attacks, kidney failure and blindness.
The researchers found that none of the current anti-diabetic medications helped in curing the flawed blood vessels.
However, they did find an enzyme inhibitor which could help in preventing the membrane from expanding.
This discovery could be beneficial in treating diabetes in the future.
The researchers say the lab-grown blood vessels could help in finding treatments and determine the cause for different vascular disease such as Alzheimer's disease, wound healing problems and diabetes.
SOURCES: New Atlas, University of British Columbia news release, Nature Journal,
https://newatlas.com/stem-cells-blood-vessels/58095/
https://news.ubc.ca/2019/01/16/scientists-grow-perfect-human-blood-vessels-in-a-petri-dish/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0858-8
