Blood vessel repair hope in fight against heart attacks and stroke

The strategy involves activating supporting cells which play a key role in the construction of blood vessel walls.

Scientists used a natural chemical called fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) to stimulate the support cells in mice.

“FGF9 seemed to ‘awaken’ the supporting cells and stimulated their wrapping around the otherwise fragile blood vessel wall,” said Canadian researcher Matthew Frontini, from the University of Western Ontario.

“The idea of promoting the supporting cellular actors rather than the leading actors opens new ways of thinking about vascular (blood vessel) regeneration and new possibilities for treating patients with vascular disease.”

Heart attacks and certain kinds of stroke occur when clogged arteries leave tissue starved of blood and oxygen.

The new approach involves helping the body to build new blood vessels to nourish the heart and brain.

Previous attempts at blood vessel regeneration, or “therapeutic angiogenesis” have focused on the endothelial cells that line artery walls rather than the support cells.

But they have met with poor success, generating new blood vessels that did not last long or function well.

The research is reported online in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

“Heart attacks and strokes are leading causes of death and disability,” said co-author Professor Geoffrey Pickering, also from the University of Western Ontario.

“Coronary bypass surgery and stenting are important treatments but are not suitable for many individuals.

“Because of this, there has been considerable interest in recent years in developing biological strategies that promote the regeneration of a patient’s own blood vessels.

“Unfortunately, and despite considerable investigation, therapeutic angiogenesis has not as yet been found to be beneficial to patients with coronary artery disease. It appears that new blood vessels that form using approaches to date do not last long, and may not have the ability to control the flow of blood into the areas starved of oxygen.”