EurekAlert! - Tissue regeneration operates differently than expected:
"There is disagreement, however, about the mechanism on which repair processes are based. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, Germany, in co-operation with colleagues from Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, have now shown that skeletal muscle tissue can fuse with adult stem cells, via a mechanism based on the participation of mediators which are generally involved in immune cell activation. Although being unable to transdifferentiate into completely functional muscle cells, they are integrated into the tissue complex by fusing with differentiated tissue cells. In contrast, in the heart muscle tissue the mechanism seems to be different from this. The scientists in Bad Nauheim conclude from their study that adult stem cells are involved in tissue repair processes in a paracrine way by delivering mediating factors rather than by simply becoming components of the regenerating organ. (Genes & Development, August 2005)."
Via Longevity Meme Newsletter
