All posts tagged: Regenerative Medicine

Salamander gene could hold the key to regrowing human limbs

Salamander gene could hold the key to regrowing human limbs

Published by Jenni Sidey

The skin over a fresh wound might not look like much. In some animals, though, that thin covering becomes command central for rebuilding what was lost. That idea sits at the heart of new research on axolotls, zebrafish, and mice, three species that are very different on the surface but share part of the same genetic machinery when they regenerate damaged body parts. By tracing that overlap, scientists say they have found an early clue toward a gene therapy strategy that might someday help people regrow complex tissues after injury. “This significant research brought together three labs, working across three organisms to compare regeneration,” said Josh Currie, an assistant professor of biology at Wake Forest whose lab studies the Mexican axolotl salamander. “It showed us that there are universal, unifying genetic programs that are driving regeneration in very different types of organisms, salamanders, zebrafish and mice.” The work brought together Currie, Duke University plastic surgeon David A. Brown, and Kenneth D. Poss of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their shared target was limb and appendage regeneration, …

The missing ingredient in limb regeneration may be oxygen

The missing ingredient in limb regeneration may be oxygen

Published by Jenni Sidey

Some amputated limbs heal into scars. Others begin building themselves back. That split has long sat at the center of regeneration research. Salamanders and frog tadpoles can regrow lost limbs, while mammals cannot. Scientists have debated for decades whether the gap comes from missing genes, different body plans, or some deeper evolutionary tradeoff. A new study points to a more immediate factor: the air around the wound, and how cells read it. A recent article in Science reports that researchers from Pr. Can Aztekin’s lab at the Max Planck Institute and EPFL found that the amount of oxygen present in the area surrounding the injured limb significantly affects the development of the limb’s regenerative ability. The study compared amputated limbs of frog tadpoles with developing limb buds of mouse embryos. It was found that increased oxygen inhibits, rather than stimulates, limb regeneration. Species-specific oxygen sensing governs the initiation of vertebrate limb regeneration. (CREDIT: Science) Oxygen and Early Cellular Response In the immediate period following a limb amputation, cells must be able to respond to the …

Scientists create next-generation hair loss treatment safe for both men and women

Scientists create next-generation hair loss treatment safe for both men and women

Published by Jenni Sidey

A little change in the cycle that produces hair could tip the scales toward either healthy, continued hair growth or slow, progressive hair reduction. Many individuals suffering from hair loss have hair follicles that become “stuck” in their resting phase without moving into growth mode. A research team set out to determine how to unlock that “stuck” phase. This investigatory team’s candidate, the peptide known as MLPH, was developed using a fragment of erythropoietin (EPO), a natural hormone known to control the production of red blood cells. Graphical abstract. This study aimed to develop and validate Helix C-1–based EPO-derived peptides that activate DP cells and increase IGF-1 expression, while not inducing overt systemic erythropoietic effects. (CREDIT: Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy) Understanding Current Hair Loss Treatments The team’s goal is to address consumers’ concerns about the negative side effects associated with current treatments for hair loss. Approximately 1 billion people worldwide are affected by hair loss. The marketplace for treatment is dominated by two medications, minoxidil and finasteride. While effective, these medications have their benefits and drawbacks. …

Study reveals new way to fully regenerate skin without scarring

Study reveals new way to fully regenerate skin without scarring

Published by Jenni Sidey

A cut in the womb can vanish almost without a trace. The same injury a few days after birth leaves behind a scar. That sharp shift, described in a March 20 study in Cell, helps explain why skin loses much of its ability to rebuild itself so quickly, and it points to a possible way to restore some of that lost talent. In mice, Harvard stem cell biologists found that blocking a signal tied to excess nerve growth let wounded skin regenerate a far wider range of cell types instead of healing with the usual fibrous scar. “Essentially, we found a way to make wound healing outcome a lot better by learning how embryos do this so well,” said senior author Ya-Chieh Hsu, a professor of stem cell and regenerative biology and principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. That matters because skin repair is often mistaken for true regeneration. After injury, the surface usually closes. Beneath it, though, much of the organ does not come back the way it was. Graphical abstract …

Breakthrough intramuscular injection speeds heart attack recovery

Breakthrough intramuscular injection speeds heart attack recovery

Published by Jenni Sidey

For a heart just damaged by a blocked artery, timing matters. So does access. That is what makes a new experimental treatment stand out: instead of being delivered directly to the heart, it is injected into muscle, where it coaxes the body to make a heart-protective hormone for weeks. In a study published in Science, researchers reported that a single intramuscular injection helped mice and pigs recover after myocardial infarction, or heart attack. The treatment uses self-amplifying RNA packaged in lipid nanoparticles, a system designed to keep cells producing a therapeutic molecule longer than conventional mRNA can. A hormone the injured heart already knows The therapy centers on ANP, short for atrial natriuretic peptide, a hormone involved in cardiovascular homeostasis. After a heart attack, the body naturally raises ANP levels, but the adult heart does not appear to produce enough of it to drive strong repair. Intramuscular injectable saNppa-LNP therapy for durable cardioprotection. (CREDIT: Science) The researchers traced part of that idea to a striking contrast between newborn and adult mice. Three days after a …

MIT engineers built injectable ‘satellite livers’ as an alternative to liver transplants

MIT engineers built injectable ‘satellite livers’ as an alternative to liver transplants

Published by Jenni Sidey

More than 10,000 Americans are waiting for a liver transplant. Many more never make the list, because they are too sick to handle a major surgery. That gap is why an idea that sounds a little strange at first keeps coming up in liver research: What if you could add liver function without replacing the liver? MIT engineers are pushing that concept with what they call “satellite livers,” small pockets of liver tissue that can be injected and left to do some of the liver’s work while the damaged organ stays in place. “We think of these as satellite livers. If we could deliver these cells into the body, while leaving the sick organ in place, that would provide booster function,” says Sangeeta Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. She is also a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). In a mouse study, Bhatia’s team showed that injected …