Mesoangioblast

A mesoangioblast is a mesenchymal-like cell, associated with the walls of the large vessels. Mesoangioblasts exhibit many similarities to pericytes found in the small vessels. Mesoangioblasts are relatively undifferentiated cells with the potential to progress down the endothelial or mesodermal lineages. Mesoangioblasts express the endothelial marker Flk-1, but not haematopoietic markers such as Tal-1. Recent work has suggested their application for stem cell therapies for muscular dystrophy. Experiments in alpha-sarcoglycan deficient dystropic mice have shown that mesoangioblast transplantation can restore muscle function. Cells are delivered intra-arterially, where the migrate to the muscles.

More recently, a paper was published in Nature where mesoangioblast transplantion was used to ameliorate the effects of muscular dystrophy in golden retrievers with a congenital muscular dystrophy. The dogs given allogeneic cells survived; control animals died within 1 year.