研究发现干细胞能帮助人体自我愈合

Researchers  at  Karolinska  Institutet  have  identified  an  important  mechanism  that  regulates  how  many  new  cells  are  produced  by  each  intestinal  stem  cell.  The  study  is  published  in  the  latest  issue  of  the  prestigious  scientific  journal,  Cell.  "This  might  eventually  help  us  develop  new  drugs  for  things  like  neurological  disorders  and  anaemia,"  says  Professor  Jonas  Fris閚.

In  most  organs  of  the  body,  old  cells  are  continually  being  replaced  by  new.  If  too  many  new  cells  are  produced,  however,  it  can  lead  to  overgrowth  and  tumour  formation.  Too  few  cells,  on  the  other  hand,  can  result  in  organ  degeneration.  It  is  therefore  crucial  that  exactly  the  right  number  of  cells  are  produced.

As  many  serious  disorders  cause  a  reduction  in  the  production  of  new  cells,  scientists  are  keen  to  develop  drugs  that  stimulate  the  process,  which  in  turn  could  help  the  body  to  cure  itself.

It  has  long  been  known  that  the  new  cells  are  often  formed  by  immature  cells  known  as  stem  cells,  but  the  mechanism  regulating  the  number  of  new  cells  produced  has  remained  something  of  a  mystery.  However,  in  a  new  study  to  be  published  by  Cell  stem-cell  researcher  Jonas  Fris閚  has  succeeded  in  showing  how  the  body's  own  stem  cells  do  just  this.  Working  alongside  an  American  group  of  researchers,  Professor  Fris閚  and  his  team  have  identified  a  signal  transduction  process  that  regulates  the  degree  of  stem-cell  division.

"Understanding  how  cell  production  is  regulated  increases  our  chances  of  producing  drugs  able  to  stimulate  the  endogenous  production  of  new  cells,"  says  Professor  Fris閚.

He  hopes  that  the  new  findings  can  be  used  to  develop  drugs  that  stimulate,  for  example,  the  formation  of  new  nerve  cells  to  treat  conditions  such  as  stroke  and  Parkinson's  and  skin  cells  to  facilitate  the  healing  of  wounds.  Professor  Fris閚  is  best  known  for  his  research  on  cerebral  stem  cells;  the  present  study,  however,  has  been  carried  out  on  stem  cells  in  the  intestine,  one  of  the  organs  in  the  body  with  the  highest  rates  of  cell  renewal.

"We  also  know  that  blood,  brain  and  skin  stem  cells  express  the  genes  that  we  now  know  to  be  important  in  the  intestine,"  he  says.  "This  suggests  that  the  cell  production  mechanism  can  be  the  same  for  these  stem  cells  too."

The  next  step  for  Professor  Fris閚  and  his  group  is  therefore  to  study  how  blood  and  skin  stem  cells  go  about  producing  new  cells.   (责任编辑：泉水)

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研究发现干细胞能帮助人体自我愈合