Cambridge scientists have for the first time created different types of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) – the cells which make up the walls of blood vessels – using cells from patients’ skin. Their research, which was partly funded by the Wellcome Trust, is published this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
In the UK, one in three of all deaths is due to cardiovascular disease. The vast majority of these are caused by atherosclerosis, a ‘furring up’ and blockage of blood vessels. For patients who are unsuitable for conventional stenting or bypass treatment, one option in the future may be to grow new blood vessels to bypass their own blocked vessels.
Lead author of the research, Dr Sanjay Sinha, Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellow at the University of Cambridge said: “This research represents an important step in being able to generate the right kind of smooth muscle cells to help construct these new blood vessels. Other patients who may benefit from new blood vessels include those with renal failure, who need vascular grafts for dialysis.”
Image: Smooth muscle cells Credit: Dr Sanjay Sinha
Reproduced courtesy University of Cambridge Office of Communications