Blood vessels engineered from human cells.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Tissue engineering has made considerable progress in the past decade, but advances have stopped short of clinical application for most tissues. We postulated that an obstacle in engineering human tissues is the limited replicative capacity of adult somatic cells. To test this hypothesis, the effectiveness of telomerase expression to extend cellular lifespan was assessed in a model of human vascular tissue engineering. Telomerase expression in vascular cells isolated from elderly patients enabled the successful culture of engineered autologous blood vessels. Engineered vessels may one day provide a source of bypass conduit for patients with atherosclerotic disease.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Poh, M; Boyer, M; Solan, A; Dahl, SLM; Pedrotty, D; Banik, SSR; McKee, JA; Klinger, RY; Counter, CM; Niklason, LE

Published Date

  • June 18, 2005

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 365 / 9477

Start / End Page

  • 2122 - 2124

PubMed ID

  • 15964449

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1474-547X

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66735-9

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • England