barbara
08-08-2011, 12:00 PM
NANOFIBERS TO SPUR BLOOD VESSEL REGENERATION
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
From the MIT Technology Review: researchers "developed a liquid that,
when injected into patients, forms a matrix of loosely tangled
nanofibers. Each of these fibers is covered in microscopic
protuberances that mimic vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF -
a protein that occurs naturally in the body and causes chemical
reactions that result in the growth of new blood vessels. By mimicking
VEGF, the nanofiber has the same biological effect. ... Tissue
engineers have tried using VEGF itself to stimulate the growth of
blood vessels, but clinical trials with the protein were unsuccessful
... This is because VEGF tends to diffuse out of the target tissue
before it can do its job. Maintaining a therapeutic concentration in
the target tissue would require a series of expensive, invasive
injections. The new nanomaterial has a similar effect, but it lasts
much longer, and is completely biodegradable once its job is finished.
... The researchers tested their material in mice. The blood supply to
the animals' hind legs was restricted. Left untreated, these limbs
would die. The nanofiber treatment rescued the limbs, and resulted in
better motor function and blood circulation than the other treatments,
including a treatment with VEGF. ... there could be more uses for
nanofibers that mimic proteins from the body. For example, they could
be used to stimulate the formation of connective tissues such as bone
and cartilage, or to regenerate neurons in the brain."
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
From the MIT Technology Review: researchers "developed a liquid that,
when injected into patients, forms a matrix of loosely tangled
nanofibers. Each of these fibers is covered in microscopic
protuberances that mimic vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF -
a protein that occurs naturally in the body and causes chemical
reactions that result in the growth of new blood vessels. By mimicking
VEGF, the nanofiber has the same biological effect. ... Tissue
engineers have tried using VEGF itself to stimulate the growth of
blood vessels, but clinical trials with the protein were unsuccessful
... This is because VEGF tends to diffuse out of the target tissue
before it can do its job. Maintaining a therapeutic concentration in
the target tissue would require a series of expensive, invasive
injections. The new nanomaterial has a similar effect, but it lasts
much longer, and is completely biodegradable once its job is finished.
... The researchers tested their material in mice. The blood supply to
the animals' hind legs was restricted. Left untreated, these limbs
would die. The nanofiber treatment rescued the limbs, and resulted in
better motor function and blood circulation than the other treatments,
including a treatment with VEGF. ... there could be more uses for
nanofibers that mimic proteins from the body. For example, they could
be used to stimulate the formation of connective tissues such as bone
and cartilage, or to regenerate neurons in the brain."