how do stem cells help repair damaged blood vessels in the eye?

Question: how do stem cells help repair damaged blood vessels in the eye?
- Keywords:
  blood vessel,
  eye,
  repair,
  stem cell
Asked by to Emma, Elaine on 18 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by , .
- Emma Reid answered on 18 Jun 2014:
  
  Hi there!
  This is a great question! There are two different ways that stem cells can repair damaged blood vessels in the eye. First of all, the stem cells can become part of the blood vessel and fill up any holes or leaky bits or the cells can link together to form tubes which join up with other blood vessels in the eye. The stem cells also release lots of growth factors which stimulate natural growth of new blood vessels and this is called angiogenesis. 🙂
  Emma

Question: how do stem cells help repair damaged blood vessels in the eye?