The ability to grow the cells of one species within an organism of a different species offers scientists a powerful tool for research and medicine. It’s an approach that could advance our understanding of early human development, disease onset and progression and aging; provide innovative platforms for drug evaluation; and address the critical need for transplantable organs. Yet developing such capabilities has been a formidable challenge. Researchers led by Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte have now come one step closer toward this goal by demonstrating a new integration of human cells into animal tissue.
Discoveries
Nature Comm
05/2021
New study shows how to boost muscle regeneration and rebuild tissue
One of the many effects of aging is loss of muscle mass, which contributes to disability in older people. To counter this loss, the lab of Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte is studying ways to accelerate the regeneration of muscle with a combination of molecular compounds common in stem-cell research. Izpisua Belmonte and Postdoctoral Fellow and study first author Chao Wang showed that using these compounds increased the regeneration of muscle cells in mice by activating muscle-cell precursors called myogenic progenitors. The research provides insights that could one day help athletes as well as aging adults regenerate tissue more effectively.
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