Transformed Scar Cells Help Repair Damaged Tissue

Recent findings published in the journal Circulation show that to repair damaged tissues, transforming human scar cells into blood vessels can produce positive results.

Researchers discovered that fibroblasts could be coaxed into endothelium--an entirely different type of adult cell that forms the lining of blood vessels.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time that trans-differentiation to a therapeutic cell type has been accomplished with a small molecules and proteins," said Houston Methodist Research Institute Department of Cardiovascular Sciences Chair John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., the study's principal investigator, in a news release. "In this particular case, we've found a way to turn fibroblasts into 'shapeshifters' nearly on command."

Furthermore, researchers found that regenerative medicine could help to provide proof-of-concept for a small molecule therapy that could one day be used to potentially improve the healing of cardiovascular damage and other injuries.

"There are problems with using viruses to transfer genes into cells," Cooke said. "This gene therapy approach is more complicated, and using viral vectors means the possibility of causing damage to the patient's chromosomes. We believe a small-molecule approach to transforming the cells will be far more feasible and safer for clinical therapies."

For the future, researchers are hoping to see if a rescued animal could benefit from therapy to increase blood flow to tissues that may have been damaged by a loss of blood from Ischemia.