DNA Damage Contributes to Stem Cell Aging
Posted on: Thursday, 7 June 2007, 12:00 CDT
British and U.S. scientists have separately shown DNA damage causes premature aging in bone-marrow-derived stem cells.
The findings have implications for the use of adult stem cells in transplantation.
Long-lived multi-cellular organisms depend on small pools of slowly dividing stem cells to replenish lost tissue, and it's important such reserves are self-renewed and maintained with minimal mutations throughout life.
Richard Cornall and colleagues at Oxford University studied bone-marrow-derived stem cells from a mouse strain that has problems repairing DNA damage. The scientists determined unrepaired DNA damage in stem cells can lead to an age-dependent decline in their numbers.
In a separate study, Derrick Rossi and colleagues at Stanford University determined blood-forming stem cells from the bone marrow of mice accumulate DNA damage with age. That, the scientists reported in a similar conclusion, might underlie the reduced capacity of stem cells to yield new tissues and repair injury over time.
Both papers appear in the current issue of the journal Nature.
Source: United Press International
Related Articles
- How Cells Tolerate DNA Damage
- DNA-damaged Cells Communicate With Neighbors To Let Them Know They're In Trouble
- LifeSource Cryobank Only Company in U.S. To Extract and Store Stem Cells Directly From Bone Marrow
- Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy Studied
- Bone marrow cells improve heart after attack-study
- Bone Marrow Cells Improve Heart After Attack
- Targeting the Bone Marrow: Applications in Stem Cell Transplantation
- In Vivo and In Vitro Characterization of Insulin-Producing Cells Obtained From Murine Bone Marrow
- Stem Cells Stem Heart Damage
- New Heart Muscle Cells Can Come From Bone Marrow
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds