Healing and Regenerating Damaged Muscles and Blood Vessels Using Autologous Blood

A technology that simultaneously heals and regenerates damaged muscles and blood vessels using the patient's own blood has been developed in South Korea.

Conceptual diagram of the vascularized muscle tissue fabrication platform 'SPARC'. Provided by the National Research Foundation of Korea

The National Research Foundation of Korea announced that a research team led by Professor Juheon Kang at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and a team led by Professor Yunhee Jin at Yonsei University College of Medicine have developed the vascularized muscle tissue fabrication platform known as 'SPARC'.

This technology utilizes microfluidic-based shear stress. When applied to animal models with actual muscle injuries, the fabricated structure successfully connected with the host's blood vessels, promoting vascular remodeling, muscle fiber regeneration, and recovery of motor function.

This research distinguishes itself from conventional muscle tissue engineering technologies by implementing a structure that supports simultaneous muscle regeneration and vascular formation using fibrin derived from autologous blood. The key lies in creating distinct microenvironments within a single structure by leveraging the property of fibrin to align under shear stress, without combining multiple materials.

It is especially expected to offer a new alternative for treating volumetric muscle loss. Volumetric muscle loss is a condition in which a large portion of muscle is lost due to trauma or tumor resection.

Patients suffering from this condition experience simultaneous destruction of muscle and blood vessels, making natural recovery nearly impossible. However, existing implants tend to focus on either muscle alignment or vascular formation, limiting their ability to regenerate both tissues at the same time.

The joint research team focused on fibrin, a protein formed during blood clotting, and addressed this challenge by developing the 'SPARC' platform, which controls shear stress (a force acting parallel to the surface of an object as fluid flows) through micro-pillar structures inside microfluidic channels.

Jooheon Kang, Professor at the National Research Foundation of Korea

Fibrin can be directly obtained from the patient's blood, making it a promising personalized material with low risk of immune rejection. Notably, within the 'SPARC' platform, areas of high shear stress lead to densely aligned fibrin bundles, creating an environment conducive to vascular cell network formation. This allows muscle and blood vessels to be spatially separated within a single structure, enabling their simultaneous growth.

Professor Kang stated, "This technology is distinguished by its ability to create a complex microenvironment using a single material by leveraging the alignment properties of fibrin under physical stimulation," adding, "It is expected to be further applied to the treatment of intractable diseases such as traumatic muscle injuries and tissue defects following tumor resection."

Meanwhile, the research was conducted with support from the Mid-Career Researcher Program, Young Researcher Program, and Basic Research Laboratory Program promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The research results were recently published online in the international journal 'Advanced Materials' in the field of materials science.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.