Blocking CD47 Reverses the Progression of Fibrosis

Expression of the cell surface marker CD47 helps to protect cells from destruction by the immune system. It is abused by a variety of cancers, and thus blocking CD47 is the basis for a line of research into cancer therapies that might be broadly effective. Other researchers have found that this same approach might help to reduce the size of atherosclerotic plaques, so it seems that it isn't just cancerous cells in which excess CD47 is preventing beneficial destruction. Here, researchers discover that the cells making up the scar tissue of fibrosis are similarly protecting themselves with CD47, and blocking its activity causes the immune system to remove this scarring. Fibrosis is a damaging process, an age-related malfunction in the the normal progression of regeneration, and the scarring it causes in organs such as the heart and kidney degrade their proper function, contributing to decline and disease in later life. There is no effective treatment for fibrosis at the present time, which makes this research particularly exciting. Researchers have identified a pathway that, when mutated, drives fibrosis in many organs of the body. The pathway underlies what have been considered somewhat disparate conditions, including scleroderma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, kidney fibrosis and more, the researchers found. These diseases are often incurable and life-threatening. Importantly, the researchers were able to reverse lung fibrosis in mice by administerin...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs