Smooth-muscle cells show green in this comparison of blood vessels grown with (right) and without (left) growth factor FGF9. Without muscle, vessels don't pump.
What’s the News: Biologists may have been barking up the wrong tree when it comes to growing new blood vessels to provide blood to tissues damaged by heart disease. The vessels that form under the influence of a growth factor intended to kick-start the process are sickly and shrivel up within a year, but a new study
in Nature Biotechnology ($) shows that focusing on making the surrounding cells provide support may solve the problem. What’s the Context:
Patients who suffer from heart disease don’t have enough blood flowing to the heart and the brain, respectively. Scientists have been seeking treatments---such as the injection of a growth factor called FGF2---that encourage a patient’s own blood vessels to grow and restore blood flow in damaged tissues, but ...
