Connective tissue cells in the heart turn into bone-producing cells in response to injury, University of California, Los Angeles scientists report November 17 in Cell Stem Cell. The discovery helps explain why some people who survive heart damage develop abnormal calcium deposits – the main component of bone – in the valves or walls of the heart. The researchers also show that heart calcification can be prevented in mice by blocking an enzyme that regulates bone mineralization with small molecules.
Paper:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1934590916303459
Source & further reading:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161117151804.htm
Image:The figure shows calcium deposits in the hearts of mice (A,D) and the effect of two drugs, ARL67156 (B,E) and etidronate (C,F), in decreasing the extent of calcium deposits after heart injury.
Credit: Pillai and Li et al./Cell Stem Cell 2016 .
Corina Marinescu
No comments:
Post a Comment