Stem Cells Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Stem Cells, including details on research, transplants, therapy, benefits.

Review: application of stem cells for vascular tissue engineering.

Riha GM, Lin PH, Lumsden AB, Yao Q, Chen C

Molecular Surgeon Research Center, Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.

As the prevalence of vascular disease has continued to expand, the need for a suitable arterial replacement has prompted researchers to look beyond synthetic and autologous grafts toward the field of tissue engineering. Advances in vascular tissue engineering have utilized both mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells as a cell source in an attempt to create a fully engineered small-diameter graft. Stem cells offer enormous potential as a cell source because of their proliferative and growth potential, and the application of stem cell technology has far-reaching implications for future applications. The innovative use of stem cells for vascular tissue engineering has opened new possibilities for a fully engineered blood vessel. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current perspective on the use of stem cells for vascular tissue engineering. It focuses principally on the classes of stem cells used, techniques for differentiation scaffolding technology, and the successes and failures of models.

Published 1 November 2005 in Tissue Eng, 11(9): 1535-52.
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