Introduction:
Recently discovered cells that grow fresh arteries and restore blood supply to organs through a radical new treatment for heart disease. Natural bypass therapies that coax heart cells into forming new arteries that are capable of re-routing blood around diseased and blocked blood vessels. This treatment can be given to patients as a precaution to heart disease or even after a heart attack. The treatment given will give these patients extra arteries that will be ready to take over if their own become clogged. (A)Coronary heart disease is when the arteries that supply the heart with oxygen rich blood becomes narrow from build up of fatty tissues due to a poor diet. These narrowed pathways forces blood into smaller nearby vessels that are brought around the diseased artery. Unfortunately, not enough blood will be supplied to the heart that it needs. The researchers of 'Red-Horse' hope to grow arteries that can take over and supply this much needed blood supply to the heart when a heart attack strikes. (A)
Research:
The greatest obstacle that scientists faced is HOW coronary arteries actually formed. The ambiguity of which heart cells formed smooth muscle sheaths that need to form new arteries and more importantly if they even existed in adults were just some of the challenges researchers faced.In adult mice, the Stanford team, added fluorescent tags to single cell located in the epicardium (which is located in the tissue layer that covers the heart) in order to track down cells that form arterial muscles. The team was now able to trace this epicardial cell including its cell generations and the cells that were created as they divided. Some cells became arterial muscle cells which originated from pericytes. (A)
Molecular signals tell pericytes to grow into arterial muscle cells. If these very same signals can be somehow mimicked by a drug, then the cells in the heart could form new arteries on the hearts surface so that blood can flow. Tests are still being conducted to this day by the scientists from Standford (aka Red-Horse) on the hearts of mice in hopes of growing new arteries in these mice within the next five years. (A)
Concluding Remarks:
As of today, patients with blocked arteries, are treated with angioplasty where the material that is causing the blockage is removed. Unfortunately, many times the blockage returns. Bypass surgery, another option for patients, is the process in which blood vessels bridge the blocked areas of the arteries. This option is often more successful than angioplasty. Scientists now believe that regenerating new arteries may work better than both angioplasty and bypass surgery. (A)Links:
(A)http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/19/artery-cell-discovery-paves-way-for-new-heart-disease-treatment
*These images do not belong to me! They were found on various tumblr sites- if any are yours please let me know so I can give you credit for them! Thanks so much~
