AAbstract
Vascular endothelial dysfunction/damage is a key event in the development of vascular disease, which is closely related with altered biomechanical stress. We demonstrated that disturbed blood flow resulted in higher turnover rate of endothelial cells in apoE-deficient mice, followed by increased stem cell repair in vivo. Newly regenerated cells were differentiated into endothelial cells in response to shear stress in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we have recently created a scaffold vessel where stem cell-derived endothelial cells were seeded into the inner surface of the vessels. In response to shear stress this vessel can be lined by ‘mature’ endothelial cells. After grafting this tissue-engineered vessel to the mouse, it functioned as normal vessel for a period of time. Cell composition analysis indicates that endogenous stem cells could re-popularize the graft. Thus, stem cells could be a useful source for vascular repair as well as tissue engineering.
Short biography
Professor Qingbo Xu studied Medicine at the Qingdao Medical School, China, where he obtained his MBBS in 1983. Between 1983 and 1988 he spent 5 years as a PhD student in Peking Union Medical School, Beijing, China. He obtained his MD in 1992 from University of Innsbruck, Austria. As a Forgarty fellow he spent two years at the Laboratory of Biological Chemistry, National Institutes of Health, USA. In 1996 he returned to Austria employed by the Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, where he created his own research group and promoted to Associate Professor. In 2000, he was appointed a Professor at St George’s Hospital Medical School. Professor Xu was appointed as BHF John Parker Chair of Cardiovascular Sciences at King’s College London in 2006. His major research interests are stem cells and vascular disease. In particular, his work has identified the mechanisms by which stem/progenitor cells contribute to vascular repair and atherosclerosis. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in leading medical and scientific journals such as Lancet, JAMA, JCI, Circulation and Circulation Research. He is often invited to present papers nationally and internationally. He serves on many international advisory boards and is currently on the editorial board of several journals, He is a founder member of the European Vascular Genomics network, a network of excellence funded by the EEC, and the European Vascular Biology Organisation. Professor Xu has received several awards during his career, including the Rokitansky-Prize (1995) and the Novartis-Prize for Medicine.
Professor Qingbo Xu
BHF John Parker Chair of Cardiovascular Sciences
Cardiovascular Division
King’s BHF Centre
Kings College London
125 Coldharbour Lane
London SE5 9NU
Tel: 020 7848 5322
Fax: 020 7848 5296
e-mail: qingbo.xu@kcl.ac.uk
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/medicine/research/cardio/pi/xu-q.html
http://www.bhf.org.uk/research_health_professionals/bhf_professors/professor_xu.aspx