GAINESVILLE, Florida, June 4, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Stem cells found in the bone marrow of adult mice don't just evolve into key components of blood – they are able to build blood vessels. The discovery, announced Friday by University of Florida scientists writing in the online edition of Nature Medicine, marks an important discovery in adult stem cell research because the bone marrow is a rich source of stem cells.
“We've shown for the first time that adult blood stem cells can function to make blood vessels. We now know blood vessels can be formed from a remote location-they're not just repaired at the site of injury,” said Edward Scott, an associate professor of molecular genetics at the UF Shands Cancer Center and director of the Program in Stem Cell Biology at UF's College of Medicine.