Disease Focus: Vascular Disease
Multimodal platform combining optical and ultrasonic technologies for in vivo nondestructive evaluation of engineered vascular tissue constructs
Current vascular replacement materials are far from ideal, with all available biomaterials exhibiting significant clinical complications. The development of novel biocompatible decellularized vascular grafts holds great promise for functional restoration of vascular tissues suffering from trauma or disease. However, the need for destructive analysis at multiple in-vitro and in-vivo time points creates a costly critical […]
Directed Differentiation of Specialized Endothelial Cells
Vascular endothelial cells (EC) or endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) derived from stem cells could potentially lead to a variety of clinically relevant therapeutic applications, including various strategies for treating heart and vascular diseases. However, because EC exhibit a variety of functionally distinct subphenotypes, it is important to be able to generate the appropriate endothelial type. […]
Phase I study of IM Injection of VEGF-Producing MSC for the Treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia
Critical limb ischemia (CLI) represents a significant unmet medical need without any approved medical therapies for patients who fail surgical or angioplasty procedures to restore blood flow to the lower leg. CLI affects 2 million people in the U.S. and is associated with an increased risk of leg amputation and death. Amputation rates in patients […]
Direct reprogramming towards vascular progenitors for the treatment of ischemia
Angiogenesis or the generation of new blood vessels is a critical part of the normal healing process. Newly created vessels ensure the delivery of oxygen, nutrients, and specific repair signals to injured tissues. Indeed, even though additional repair mechanisms are required, such as replenishment of tissue-specific cell types, angiogenesis contributes to the healing of a […]
A Novel Engineered Niche to Explore the Vasculogenic Potential of Embryonic Stem Cells
Cardiovascular diseases account for an estimated $330 billion in health care costs each year, afflict 61.8 million Americans, and will account for more than 1.5 million deaths in the U.S. this year alone. A number of these diseases are characterized by either insufficient blood vessel growth or damage to the existing vessels, resulting in inadequate […]
VEGF signaling in adventitial stem cells in vascular physiology and disease
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the developed world. This disease results from atherosclerosis or fatty deposits in the vessel wall that causes blockage of coronary arteries. Blockage of these arteries cut off supplies of nutrients and oxygen to the heart muscle, causing heart attacks, heart failure or sudden death. To […]
EC regeneration in cerebrovascular ischemia: role of NO
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability in this country, affecting about 650,000 people in the US each year. Currently approved therapies for stroke are directed toward acutely restoring blood flow (using drugs that break up clot). A new approach is to use stem cells to regenerate portions […]
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Treated with Cardiosphere-Derived Allogeneic Stem Cells
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive condition with no cure. Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are using donor cells derived from the heart to reduce two hallmark symptoms of pulmonary hypertension: inflammation and high blood pressure in the blood vessels within the lungs. These conditions make the heart struggle to pump blood to the heart […]
Harnessing vascular stem cells to grow and protect the human brain
Research Objective The origins of brain vascular mural cells are unknown. This proposal will identify mural stem cells in the developing human and mouse brain and determine their impact on blood brain barrier formation. Impact Brain vascular diseases can have profound impacts on long-term neurological function. This proposal will map the stages of mural stem […]
Use of Human iPSC-derived Endothelial Cells for Calcific Aortic Valve Disease Therapeutics
Research Objective To develop drugs to treat Calcific Aortic Valve Disease (CAVD), the third leading cause of adult heart disease, by screening a stem cell-based platform based on CAVD patient-derived stem cells. Impact CAVD represents a major unmet medical need, with no treatments other than valve replacement. We will identify drugs, already proven to be […]