Heart Cells Can Dedifferentiate?
Related News: Heart / Cardio News, Regenerative MedicineWired is running an article .. not so much about stem cells, but methods being researched on causing adult heart cells to dedifferentiate to earlier stage cells .. similar in function to stem cells. This kind of research promises to open even more insight into the field of regenerative medicine .. and likely to excite those in the longevity fields too.
Essentially, Hydra Biosciences is working a new regeneration drug therapy that causes heart muscle-cells to regrow. This research could lead to a faster recovery for heart attack victims.
Essentially this protein-based drug induces mature cells to become a little bit like stem cells in that they can actually regenerate muscle tissue within the heart.
Replacing damaged or diseased tissue by regenerating a patient's own tissue, has a leg up on stem cell-based procedures because it eliminates many potential medical problems, like immune rejection.
"Stem cell therapy involves using cells from outside the body, so there's the potential for incompatibility," says Mark Keating, head of the human genetics division at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research and an advisor to Hydra. "The cells can also divide too fast and become cancerous."
Read more at Wired - Regeneration Sans Stem Cells
Posted on January 27, 2006 01:52 PM