Personalized Blood Vessels
Scientists from the Imperial College London, have successfully grown a model of a patient’s blood vessel wall in a dish from a small sample of their blood.
The newly developed technology by the scientists could be used to create personalized testing kits for new drugs as well as help them in advance research of diseases related to blood vessels, including stroke, heart attack, and vascular dementia.
The study in which the Imperial College scientists developed Personalized Blood Vessels is funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Scientists say that Personalized Blood Vessels technology could even provide a short method for building replacement blood vessels in the future.
The team of scientists took blood samples from volunteers and isolated precursor cells that exist in the blood. In the lab, they turned the precursor cells into 2 of the most important types of cells which make up blood vessels: endothelial cells & smooth muscle cells.
Endothelial cells line the inside part of blood vessels; providing a non-stick coating that prevents clots & protects blood vessels from damage. The smooth muscle cells make up the mechanical part of blood vessel walls and control blood flow.
Personalized Blood Vessels- Grow Your Own Blood Vessels:
Growing blood vessels in the lab typically involve taking mature cells from someone during surgery or after death. On the contrary, researchers from Imperial College London were able to get the same results from a small sample of blood. The cells from blood samples form spontaneously when placed in the optimum conditions.
Professor Jane Mitchell, from the Imperial College London and the lead author of the study, said that witnessing Personalized Blood Vessels grow was “remarkable.” She added that the technique allows doctors to test somebody’s response to drugs before they’re administered.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said that creating models in the lab gives researchers a testing ground in which to put new treatments through their paces as well as decide which will work best in each individual.
The Personalized Blood Vessels technique could open doors in several fields of medical research by giving researchers ascross the globe access to both types of blood vessel cells from patients, without the need for surgery.
