To help the blood, act on the muscle

2003/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

Duke University researchers have made blood vessels from muscle cells in North Carolina. They have already performed four arteries eight centimeters long and, if the method is safe, can become an important resource for cardiac surgery.

(Photo: G. Roa).

The procedure draws attention that the addition of a gene called hTERT produces an increase in muscle cells that prolongs cell life. In order for the cultured cells to form a tubular structure, they are introduced for two months into a mold made of a biodegradable polymer. Finally, by adding cells that line the structure, arteries form.

The tubes raised with this therapy would not produce rejection, as they would be made from the muscle tissue of the patient. On the other hand, as the vessels grow in the laboratory, there would be no problems obtaining the vessels.