A new way of regenerating blood vessels could help prevent heart attacks and strokes, scientists believe.

The strategy involves activating supporting cells which play a key role in the construction of blood vessel walls.

Scientists used a natural chemical called fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) to stimulate the support cells in mice.

“FGF9 seemed to ‘awaken’ the supporting cells and stimulated their wrapping around the otherwise fragile blood vessel wall,” said Canadian researcher Matthew Frontini, from the University of Western Ontario.

“The idea of promoting the supporting cellular actors rather than the leading actors opens new ways of thinking about vascular (blood vessel) regeneration and new possibilities for treating patients with vascular disease.”

Heart attacks and certain kinds of stroke occur when clogged arteries leave tissue starved of blood and oxygen. The new approach involves helping the body to build new blood vessels to nourish the heart and brain.

Previous attempts at blood vessel regeneration, or “therapeutic angiogenesis” have focused on the endothelial cells that line artery walls rather than the support cells.

But they have met with poor success, generating new blood vessels that did not last long or function well.

The scientists found that with FGF9, new blood vessels sprouted in mice that did not shrivel and disappear but lasted for more than a year and also had the ability to constrict and relax to regulate the amount of blood flowing through them.

The research is reported online in the journal Nature Biotechnology.