regenerative medicine

Insulin in vials
May 20, 2021

Beta cell regeneration

Vanderbilt researchers dissected the complex microenvironment of the pancreatic islet to discover the signals that drive beta cell regeneration — as a possible treatment for diabetes.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 10, 2019

Cell-cell signals in developing heart

Scott Baldwin and colleagues have discovered early signaling events during heart development, findings that could guide cell replacement therapies for heart disease.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 9, 2019

Blueprint for rebuilding the heart

Young-Jae Nam and colleagues are discovering how to express specific factors in connective tissue cells to turn them into heart muscle cells.

By Anivarya Kumar
October 16, 2015

Healing without scarring

Drugs that inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway can regenerate injured skin and may be useful in treating fibromatosis, degenerative joint disease and cancer.

By Sanjay Mishra
May 15, 2015

Boosting cell-based heart repair

A metabolic change in adult stem cells makes them less “fit” for regenerative heart therapies, suggesting that strategies to prevent this response may boost the therapeutic usefulness of the cells.

By Leigh MacMillan
Heart illustration
August 20, 2014

Study finds coronary arteries hold heart-regenerating cells

Endothelial cells residing in the coronary arteries can function as cardiac stem cells to produce new heart muscle tissue, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 1, 2013

Cell source of heart’s blood vessels

An unexpected group of cells generates the coronary arteries and may be useful for regeneration therapies following injury to the heart.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 17, 2012

Long live the therapeutic stem cells

Enhancing stem cell survival is key to improving cell-based therapies for regenerative medicine, and a new drug could help.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 20, 2012

Stem cells take heart

Signaling pathway discoveries suggest ways to induce stem cells to become cardiac muscle cells, which could be useful for regenerating damaged heart muscle.
By Leigh MacMillan