In a discovery that may help develop therapeutics to combat radiation-induced bone marrow failure, Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University scientists have found exciting, new functions of the protein angiogenin (ANG).
The findings, published in an article in the August 11, 2016 issue of the journal Cell, the researchers show for the first time that ANG simultaneously reduces proliferation of stem cells and promotes proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells that give rise to mature myeloid cells. They further report that these two-pronged processes are accomplished by a novel molecular regulating mechanism, a first-ever such finding.
These findings have significant implications for both human stem cell transplantation and for radiation exposure. Cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplantation face two hurdles: the short-term challenge of having enough white blood cells to fight possible infections immediately following the transplant and the long-term challenge of sustaining stem cell function to maintain immunity. People exposed to large doses of radiation face challenges due to bone marrow failure induced by such exposures.PR:https://www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/News-Events-Media/Press-Releases/2016/New-Functions-of-Blood-Cell-Protein-in-Transplantation.aspx
Corina Marinescu
No comments:
Post a Comment