One step closer to androids. That’s where scilogs is bringing us. Making a blood supply for bioengineered organs from scratch:
Starting off with fibroblasts…, widespread cells that provide structure and support in every organ, the team supplied four lots of DNA-targeted instructions designed to reset the cells to a more primitive state. This prompted cells to enter a genetically liquid phase where multiple cell outcomes were possible, including bone, cartilage, fat, nerves or blood vessels. Reset cells underwent rapid changes in how they moved, grew, divided and survived, yet they were also very well-behaved and showed no signs of losing growth control. Several reset cells began to spontaneously form hollow, tube-like structures and expressed genes classically associated with endothelial cells, one of the main cell components of a blood vessel.
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Perhaps most impressively, these cells also performed admirably when tested for their ability to restore damaged blood vessels in a living animal: when injected into an injured mouse leg, cells were able to attach and integrate into the muscle to improve blood flow, re-establish circulatory system connections and restore oxygen supply to the muscle.