Monday, November 27, 2006
Getting To The Heart Of Cardiac Repair
London (UK), 26 November: A protein that stimulates repair in mouse heart is described in a paper published online by Nature this week. The researchers demonstrate that thymosin beta4 (Tbeta4), known to be vital in the initial development of heart tissue, can also promote new vasculature in failing adult heart muscle.
Using mice with Tbeta4 deficiency, Paul Riley and colleagues have determined that Tbeta4 can stimulate the movement of cells from an outer layer of the heart into the heart muscle, where they then form endothelial and smooth muscle cells as part of the process of new vessel formation and stabilization. A second small molecule, AcSDKP, is shown to contribute to the repair process. The team finds that when Tbeta4 is not present, AcSDKP cannot entirely rescue the heart defect, although it does have some protective effect.
The researchers believe Tbeta4 could have therapeutic potential in humans as it could promote heart cell survival after cardiac injury, and understanding how it works is a step towards this aim.
(ResearchSEA)
Using mice with Tbeta4 deficiency, Paul Riley and colleagues have determined that Tbeta4 can stimulate the movement of cells from an outer layer of the heart into the heart muscle, where they then form endothelial and smooth muscle cells as part of the process of new vessel formation and stabilization. A second small molecule, AcSDKP, is shown to contribute to the repair process. The team finds that when Tbeta4 is not present, AcSDKP cannot entirely rescue the heart defect, although it does have some protective effect.
The researchers believe Tbeta4 could have therapeutic potential in humans as it could promote heart cell survival after cardiac injury, and understanding how it works is a step towards this aim.
(ResearchSEA)
# posted by mediabhartiwebsolutions @ 3:33 AM 
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