Preventing Damage From Stroke, Heart Attack
Posted on: Friday, 30 January 2009, 07:37 CST
Scientists are learning how to rescue oxygen-starved cells in humans who suffer a heart attack or stroke by studying microscopic worms that can survive with almost no oxygen.
Washington University School of Medicine neurobiologists in St. Louis, MO, have identified pathways that allow microscopic worms to survive in a low-oxygen environment.
Researchers say the finding could have implications for patients suffering from stroke, heart attack and cancer.
"In stroke and heart attack, cells die because they lack oxygen," said researcher Dr. Michael Crowder.
"In cancer, the opposite is true. Cancer cells are hypoxia-resistant in many cases, and their potential to spread throughout the body tends to correlate with their degree of hypoxia resistance."
Sensitivity to low oxygen helps determine how damaging those medical conditions can be.
The research is published in the Jan. 30 issue of the journal Science.
During the study, researchers found a gene that can help a cell slow down when oxygen levels get too low, protecting the cells from making fatal mistakes while starved of oxygen.
Crowder's team used genetic engineering techniques on worms called Caenorhabditis elegans to find genes that help them survive better with little oxygen.
Researchers say interfering with this gene, found in the mitochondria, or powerhouse of the cells, may protect the cells by putting them into a kind of hibernation so they do not need as much oxygen.
The team also interfered with how genes fold proteins, making them into the shapes they need to function best.
Researchers found that improperly folded proteins can die, and low-oxygen environments have been linked with high levels of unfolded proteins.
They noted that slowing down the cell also helps stop the damage caused by faulty proteins.
The next step for the team is to see if the same approach can help protect nerve cells in mammals.
"If that happens, then I think there is hope that, eventually, we could target this process for therapy," Crowder said.
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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