In work that could generate dramatic new treatments for health problems ranging from stroke to diabetes, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered how our bodies make the cells that line our blood vessels.
The cells that make up the inner lining of blood vessels in the body are called endothelial cells. The origin of these endothelial cells, which play a vital role in the body’s circulatory system and internal organs, has been uncertain. But by extracting and comparing cells from umbilical cords and adult blood, the IU team isolated the parents--the progenitors--of the cells.
The progenitor cells the researchers identified are adult type stem cells, but they proliferate much like embryonic stem cells, and they can be grown in large quantities in the laboratory, says Mervin C. Yoder, the Richard and Pauline Klingler professor of pediatrics and of biochemistry and molecular biology at the IUSM.
The researchers found that the endothelial cells are formed in a manner similar to the blood cells carried by the circulatory system, adds David A. Ingram, Jr., assistant professor of pediatrics and lead author of the study, which appeared last November in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology.
Researchers have been attempting to use hematopoietic stem cells—cells found mainly in bone marrow-- in gene therapies directed toward immune disorders, certain cancers, and other problems, by inserting genes into the stem cells. Progress has been slow, however, because hematopoietic stem cells are hard to find, difficult to grow in the laboratory, and hard to modify with genes.
The endothelial progenitor cells, on the other hand, grew exceedingly well--the cord blood progenitor cells could be grown for at least 100 new generations in the laboratory, forming many new colonies of cells. They also were easily modified with new genes.
To further the potential of their discovery, Yoder and Ingram have formed EndGenitor Technologies Inc. The company will market test kits that enable scientists to determine if samples contain endothelial stem cells and progenitor cells. In the future, Yoder and Ingram hope their company will create new gene therapy products that will treat people with heart disease or other problems involving blood vessels and circulation.
“It is our firm belief that the therapeutic use of adult stem cells will revolutionize the practice of medicine, and that EndGenitor Technologies Inc. will play a leading role in the discovery and development of cell therapies for treating chronic degenerative diseases associated with aging,” says Yoder.
EndGenitor is one of 20 companies now occupying the Indiana University Emerging Technologies Center, the university’s two-year-old business incubator and accelerator. Offering space and services to fledgling ventures in the health, life sciences, and information technology areas, the IUETC, located in downtown Indianapolis, is more than 85 percent full.
The IUETC is owned and operated by the IU Research & Technology Corporation, which provides IU faculty with assistance in the process of commercializing their scientific and technical research discoveries.
For more, see:
http://www.medicine.iu.edu/
http://iuetc.iu.edu/
http://iurtc.iu.edu/
