Fight Aging! Newsletter, June 12th 2017

In this study, we focused on two pathways of cardiomyocytes or heart cells: the Hippo pathway, which is involved in stopping renewal of adult cardiomyocytes, and the dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC) pathway, essential for cardiomyocyte normal functions." Previous work had hinted that components of the DGC pathway may somehow interact with members of the Hippo pathway. The researchers genetically engineered mice to lack genes involved in one or both pathways, and then determined the ability of the heart to repair an injury. These studies showed for the first time that dystroglycan 1, a component of the DGC pathway, directly binds to Yap, part of the Hippo pathway, and that this interaction inhibited cardiomyocyte proliferation. "The discovery that the Hippo and the DGC pathways connect in the cardiomyocyte and that together they act as 'brakes,' or stop signals to cell proliferation, opens the possibility that by disrupting this interaction one day it might be possible to help adult cardiomyocytes proliferate and heal injuries caused by a heart attack, for example." Young at Heart: Restoring Cardiac Function with a Matrix Molecule Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, yet the few available treatments are still mostly unsuccessful once the heart tissue has suffered damage. Mammalian hearts are actually able to regenerate and repair damage - but only up to around the time of birth. Afterward, that ability disappears, seemingly ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs