Mumbai, March 09: A new technique of growing arterial blood vessels could result in a “biological bypass” or a non-invasive method to treat coronary-artery disease, a news research said
Coronary arteries get blocked with plaque, resulting in a decrease in the supply of blood as well as oxygen to the heart.
Over time this blockage can cause unbearable chest pain or coronary failure.
Serious blockages in various major vessels may have need of coronary artery bypass graft surgical operation.
Lead author Michael Simons, chief of cardiology at Yale School of Medicine, said, “Successfully growing new arteries could provide a biological option for patients facing bypass surgery.”
Formerly, scientists utilized growth factors – proteins, which encourage the cell growth in order to develop new arteries, but this method was unproductive.
Simons and his fellow workers analyzed mice and zebrafish to check if they could replicate arterial arrangement by switching on and off two signalling pathways, ERK1/2 and P13K.
Simons said, “We found that there is a cross-talk between the two signalling pathways. One-half of the signalling pathway inhibits the other. When we inhibit this mechanism, we are able to grow arteries.”
“Instead of using growth factors, we stopped the inhibitor mechanism by using a drug that targets a particular enzyme called P13-kinase inhibitor,” he added.
“The next step is to test this finding in a human clinical trial.”
The results of the study are slated for publication in the April issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation.
—Agencies