AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 AbstractNov 7, 2026, 00:44 GMT

Excess glucose breakdown hampers blood vessel repair in mice

Mice engineered to increase glucose breakdown in blood vessel–lining cells showed poorer blood-flow recovery and lower capillary density after hindlimb blood supply was restricted.

Paper by Sheela Nagarkoti, Dipankar Ash, Sudhahar Varadarajan, +11Masuko Ushio-Fukai · Augusta University

Muscle tissue beside mice contrasts dense capillaries and intact fibers with sparse vessels, torn fibers, and fragmented mitochondria.

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Mechanisms

Studied:: Experiments in EC-Glyco-Hi mice
What changed:: Limb perfusion recovery was markedly reduced (52%) in EC-Glyco-Hi mice following hindlimb ischemia
The catch:: The conference abstract gives no mouse group sizes
Why it’s aging research:: It studies something that builds up in the body with age.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

Mice genetically engineered to increase glycolysis, the breakdown of glucose, in endothelial cells that line blood vessels underwent an experiment restricting blood supply to a hindlimb. Blood flow recovered less well, and capillaries, the smallest blood vessels, were less densely packed. The affected muscle also showed increased markers of senescence, a state in which cells stop dividing, and signs of damage.

In separate experiments in human endothelial cells grown in the lab, increased glycolysis raised levels of reactive oxygen molecules. These caused chemical changes to proteins involved in blood-vessel growth and mitochondrial shape. Signals supporting vessel growth weakened. Mitochondria, the cells’ energy-producing structures, became fragmented and produced more reactive oxygen molecules, promoting senescence.

Why it matters

Defective blood-vessel repair is a feature of diabetic peripheral arterial disease. The authors propose that glucose metabolism connects this failure with age-associated inflammation.

Caveats

The evidence came from engineered mice and lab-grown human cells, not people with diabetic peripheral arterial disease. The conference abstract gives no mouse group sizes and does not clarify whether its 52% figure refers to blood-flow recovery or its reduction.