GROWING BLOOD VESSEL IN A WEEK
The technology for
creating new tissues from stem cells has taken a giant leap forward. Three
tablespoons of blood are all that is needed to grow a brand new blood vessel in
just seven days. This is shown in a new study from Sahlgrenska Acadedmy and
Sahlgrenska University Hospital published in EBioMedicine.
Just three years ago,
a patient at Sahlgrenska University Hospital received a blood vessel transplant
grown from her own stem cells.
Suchitra
Sumitran-Holgersson, Professor of Transplantation Biology at Sahlgrenska
Academy, and Michael Olausson, Surgeon/Medical Director of the Transplant
Center and Professor at Sahlgrenska Academy, came up with the idea, planned and
carried out the procedure.
Missing a vein
Professors
Sumitran-Holgersson and Olausson have published a new study in EBioMedicine based
on two other transplants that were performed in 2012 at Sahlgrenska University
Hospital. The patients, two young children, had the same condition as in the
first case -- they were missing the vein that goes from the gastrointestinal
tract to the liver.
"Once again we
used the stem cells of the patients to grow a new blood vessel that would
permit the two organs to collaborate properly," Professor Olausson says.
This time, however,
Professor Sumitran-Holgersson, found a way to extract stem cells that did not
necessitate taking them from the bone marrow.
"Drilling in the
bone marrow is very painful," she says. "It occurred to me that there
must be a way to obtain the cells from the blood instead."
The fact that the
patients were so young fueled her passion to look for a new approach. The
method involved taking 25 milliliter (approximately 2 tablespoons) of blood,
the minimum quantity needed to obtain enough stem cells.
Blood willingly
cooperates
Professor
Sumitran-Holgersson's idea turned out to surpass her wildest expectations --
the extraction procedure worked perfectly the very first time.
"Not only that,
but the blood itself accelerated growth of the new vein," Professor
Sumitran-Holgersson says. "The entire process took only a week, as opposed
to a month in the first case. The blood contains substances that naturally
promote growth."
More groups of patients
can benefit
Professors Olausson
and Sumitran-Holgersson have treated three patients so far. Two of the three
patients are still doing well and have veins that are functioning as they
should. In the third case the child is under medical surveillance and the
outcome is more uncertain.
They researchers have
now reached the point that they can avoid taking painful blood marrow samples
and complete the entire process in the matter of a week.
"We believe that
this technological progress can lead to dissemination of the method for the
benefit of additional groups of patients, such as those with varicose veins or
myocardial infarction, who need new blood vessels," Professor Holgersson
says. "Our dream is to be able to grow complete organs as a way of
overcoming the current shortage from donors."
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