Researchers grow viable human blood vesselsJanuary 17, 2019 - 14:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Researchers have developed a way to grow stable, viable human blood vessels from stem cells in the lab, Forbes says. The study, published in the journal Nature, significantly advances research into vascular diseases like diabetes. Indeed, the researchers used the new method to identify a human protein that contributes to diabetes-associated vascular damage, and showed that blocking its function could potentially prevent such damage. Diabetes affects more than 420 million people around the world and its most serious complications arise from the vascular damage it causes. Specifically, diabetes patients are prone to a range of blood vessel changes, including abnormal thickening of blood vessel walls, loss of vascular cells, and disrupted cellular communication in blood vessels. Over time, this impairs circulation and can ultimately cut off the supply of nutrients and oxygen to cells and tissues in the body. This, in turn, can lead to myriad problems including blindness, kidney failure, strokes, heart damage and the need for amputations. Exactly how blood vessel dysfunction arises and causes damage in diabetes has remained unclear, which has made it difficult to develop targeted treatments. To address this, Josef Penninger at the University of British Colombia and Reiner Wimmer at the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), together with their colleagues, developed a way to use human pluripotent stem cells to grow self-organizing three-dimensional human blood vessel ‘organoids’ that mimic the structure and function of human blood vessels. These organoids, which were grown in a Petri dish in the lab, were then transplanted into mice, where they developed into stable, functional blood vessels, including capillaries and even arteries. “What is so exciting about our work is that we were successful in making real human blood vessels out of stem cells," says Wimmer. "Our organoids resemble human capillaries to a great extent, even on a molecular level, and we can now use them to study blood vessel diseases directly on human tissue." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |