Stem Cells Spur Tissue Vascularization
A key challenge facing tissue engineers has been providing tissue with blood flow. Now, a group of scientists at the University of Michigan have identified the source of previous failed attempts to encourage tissue vascularization with cells. The quality of injected cells appears to be tied to how well blood vessels branch off and grow. Adult stem cells with scaffolding material form more robust vessels than conventional cells. These findings appear in Tissue Engineering Part A.