Developing new mature, functional vascular networks in ischemic disease

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When blood vessels supplying parts of the heart or other organs become blocked, those organs have a reduced blood supply, so oxygen and other nutrients cannot be delivered in sufficient amounts, and waste products efficiently removed, and the tissue cease to work properly. Tissues can induce blood vessels to regrow into the area, but the new vessels must work properly, i.e. be able to respond to the demands of the tissue, (hold blood in, but allow oxygen and sugars out), and maintain the environment of the tissues (i.e. not allow too much fluid to cross the vessel walls, but to maintain the hydration of the tissues). This process has proved much more difficult to mimic than was originally though ten years ago when this process was first investigated. We have developed a simple system to help us build proper blood vessels, and used them to identify new combinations of treatments that build blood vessels that function the way they would in normal tissues. We intend to use these combination of factors needed to make vessels, and improve on them, test that they work properly, and then try them in models of heart and vessel disease.