By transforming human scar cells into blood vessel cells, scientists at Houston Methodist may have discovered a new way to repair damaged tissue.
The method, described in an upcoming issue of Circulation (early online), appeared to improve blood flow, oxygenation, and nutrition to areas in need.
Cardiovascular scientists at Houston Methodist, with colleagues at Stanford University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, learned that fibroblasts — cells that causes scarring and are plentiful throughout the human body — can be coaxed into becoming endothelium, an entirely different type of adult cell that forms the lining of blood vessels.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time that trans-differentiation to a therapeutic cell type has been accomplished with a small molecules and proteins,” said Houston Methodist Research Institute Department of Cardiovascular Sciences Chair John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s principal investigator. “In this particular case, we’ve found a way to turn fibroblasts into ‘shapeshifters’ nearly on command.”
Cooke said the regenerative medicine approach provides proof-of-concept for a small molecule therapy that could one day be used to improve the healing of cardiovascular damage or other injuries.
Other research groups have managed to generate endothelial cells cells using infectious virus particles specially engineered to deliver gene-manipulating DNA to cells. The DNA encodes proteins called transcription factors to alter gene expression patterns in such a way that cells behave more like endothelial cells.
“There are problems with using viruses to transfer genes into cells,” Cooke said. “This gene therapy approach is more complicated, and using viral vectors means the possibility of causing damage to the patient’s chromosomes. We believe a small-molecule approach to transforming the cells will be far more feasible and safer for clinical therapies.”
The Latest on: Reprogrammed cells
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Reprogrammed cells” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Reprogrammed cells
- DEFENCE’S ACCUTOX ANTI-CANCER ARM-002 VACCINE EXHIBITS POTENT ANTIGEN PRESENTATIONon April 22, 2024 at 11:59 pm
EQS-News: Defence Therapeutics Inc. / Key word (s): Miscellaneous DEFENCE'S ACCUTOX ANTI-CANCER ARM-002 VACCINE EXHIBITS POTENT ANTIGEN PRESENTATION 23.04.2024 / 08:00 CET/CEST The issuer is solely ...
- Researchers develop a new way to safely boost immune cells to fight canceron April 22, 2024 at 11:48 am
Researchers explore a cancer immunotherapy treatment that involves activating the immune cells in the body and reprogramming them to attack and destroy cancer cells. This therapeutic method frequently ...
- Breakthrough in Bioinformatics: AI Predicts Cell Type Transformationson April 22, 2024 at 3:35 am
AI analyzes accessible data to pinpoint genetic modifications that alter cellular activity. Advances in gene sequencing technology and computing power have significantly increased the availability of ...
- Cancer Breakthrough Found to Boost Immune Cells Without Harmful Side-Effects By Directing Protein Cytokineson April 21, 2024 at 7:00 am
A new way to safely boost immune cells to fight cancer—avoiding harmful side-effects such as hair loss—has been developed.
- New research pinpoints key pathways in prostate cancer's vulnerability to ferroptosison April 17, 2024 at 7:36 pm
Review examines the role of ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, in prostate cancer, exploring its underlying molecular mechanisms and potential for targeted therapeutic strategies.
- Lyell Immunopharma: Testing The T-Cell Thesis With 2 Upcoming Data Catalystson April 16, 2024 at 3:25 pm
Lyell Immunopharma's stock price rose over 20% YTD. It focuses on T-cell therapies for solid tumors and has 2 clinical-stage assets. Find out why LYEL stock is a Buy.
- Reprogramming metastatic tumour cells with embryonic microenvironmentson April 14, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The embryonic neural crest microenvironment of the chick provides an attractive model system to explore melanoma tumour cell reprogramming. Human metastatic melanoma cells transplanted into the ...
- The Frozen Skin Of Dead Rhinos Could Save The Northern White Rhino From Extinctionon April 11, 2024 at 4:00 am
While the northern white rhino ( Ceratotherium simum cottoni) females are infertile, it’s hoped a surrogate such as the closely related southern white rhino ( C. simum simum) could step in to carry ...
- The race to resurrect the dodoon April 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm
They say they’ve successfully reprogrammed Asian elephant cells into an embryo-like state that can give rise to every cell type. The lab says the discovery opens up a path to creating reproductive ...
via Bing News