New Blood Vessels Built Using Stem Cells

Bone marrow stem cells suspended in X-ray-visible microbubbles dramatically improve the body’s ability to build new blood vessels in the upper leg — providing a potential future treatment for those with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a chronic disease that progressively restricts blood flow causing poor blood circulation (generally in the legs). Left untreated, PAD can result in serious medical complications, including heart attack, stroke, amputation and death. D.A. Kedziorek, from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Maryland, USA), and colleagues used a technique that encloses stem cells derived from bone marrow in an alginate capsule or microbubble made from seaweed that contains stem cells to create factors to recruit the building of new vessels along with an X-ray -visible contrast agent. Tested in a rabbit model, the bubble prevents the body’s immune system from reaching and attacking the transplanted cells. The microbubble protects the stem cells from being destroyed even if they come from another person’s bone marrow. The team concludes that: “Microencapsulation protects [mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)] from early cell destruction thereby enhancing viability and contributing to an improved arteriogenic response for the treatment of PAD.”