Researchers have uncovered a novel type of progenitor cell, dubbed EndoMac, with the remarkable ability to transform into cells that form blood vessels and aid in tissue repair. This discovery holds immense potential for developing game-changing treatments for chronic wounds and other regenerative challenges.
Discovering the EndoMac Progenitor Cell
Researchers at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) have identified a new type of cell that can develop two forms of tissue, blood vessels and macrophages to help repair tissues when they are damaged.
The cell has been named EndoMac progenitors and these are the cells present in adult mice aortas outer layer. One of the research team members, Dr. Sanuri Liyanage, said: “These cells have a job to do and that is to help grow blood vessels when the body needs them to. They remain quiescent until turned on by injury or poor blood flow lungs quickly expand toambitious help mend.
Published in the world’s leading scientific journal, Nature Communications, the 9-year process has resolved a major outstanding question for the field and is now delivered at arm’s length by Prof Peter Psaltis from SAHMRI. The researchers are encouraged by indication and potential to exploit these exceptional cells for regeneration and repair of damaged tissues.
Tapping into the Power of Healing
It is an exciting point of inflection in the potential for future repair and generation of tissues. Now, new research has also found that the same cells could help to improve healing from diseases where normal tissue repair is impaired, such as diabetes.
This study reports that Dr. Liyanage and her colleagues have isolated the EndoMac progenitors from mice, cultured them, and seen them form colonies. These colonies have been put into diabetic mouse models and the results are stunning.
We found that after transplanting these progenitors into diabetic wounds, healing was improved significantly in just days,” recalls Dr. Liyanage. This might in theory be a game changer for chronic wound patients.
These are recruits for the research team, who is currently evaluating how programmers can be used in repairing skin and skeletal muscle (results due in the next 12 months). Related: Scientists are also scouring human tissues for these cells, even as their preliminary data suggest that they are probably present in us too.
Conclusion
For the first time we have been able to identify EndoMac progenitors, which is a game changer in blood vessel regeneration research. With the ability to learn more about the true capabilities of these exceptional cells, this could have enormous ramifications for how we treat chronic wounds, tissue repair and a number of other regenerative problems in the future. This landmark discovery heralds the next generation of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.
