Blood vessels in the legs or heart sustain considerable damage when they are narrowed by poor circulation from diabetes or blocked in a heart attack. To repair them, researchers have tried using grafts from other blood vessels or giving growth factors to stimulate new tissue, but those solutions often fall short.
Scientists from Boston Children’s Hospital report Wednesday in Nature that they managed to boost blood vessel growth by enlisting mitochondria, organelles that power the cell, to the cause — but not for the reasons they first supposed.
The work is only in mice so far, but it reflects a surge of interest, including a new clinical trial, in using mitochondria to help regrow blood vessel linings. Efforts to treat other diseases, such as cancer and Parkinson’s, with mitochondrial transplantation have met with mixed success. Any advances could help people with diabetes, who commonly develop vascular problems such as diabetic ulcers, or end up facing limb loss. Atherosclerosis can also lead to peripheral artery disease from reduced blood flow in the arms or legs.
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