The regenerative capacity of our body is very high. However, this is true only if we are talking about minor damage. The same deep cuts after healing are often overgrown not with ordinary skin, but with rough scar tissue. Scientists around the world are regularly looking for a way to improve the regenerative capabilities of the human body (especially since the animal world is full of such examples). And it is quite possible that a group of researchers from Canada succeeded.
Authors of the work on the creation of a substance that triggers tissue regeneration. Stefan Angers (left) and Sahdev Sidhu (Sparwa).
How to start the process of tissue regeneration
Surprisingly, scientists made their discovery in the process of working on the study of antibodies that the body produces to fight infections. This is not the first time in world practice when antibodies are “converted” into drugs. This is due to their ability to bind proteins and thus affect the work of living cells. Since proteins are encoded by a specific set of genes, they can be easily created in the laboratory using genomic and protein engineering technologies. According to the researchers, on the basis of antibodies they managed to develop their "improved synthetic analogs."
The new substances were named FLAg. They are inherently analogous to Wnt proteins. The fact is that in the body, Wnt proteins start the process of growth and development of stem cells into cells of any other type. Wnt are very active in the process of embryo formation, but after birth, the activity of these proteins decreases. But why not just "add" the Wnt then? Why create analogues?
Salamanders. Some of the most amazing creatures on the planet. They are able to regrow lost limbs with ease.
In fact, Wnt is still present in small amounts in the adult body and even fulfills its function. Only this protein is so "powerful" that it can cause uncontrolled cell growth, which will lead to the development of oncology. Therefore, it was necessary to create a substance that would perform the same function, but whose work could be easily regulated. This is how FLAg was born.
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Naturally, scientists have already conducted a series of experiments. When added to cell culture, FLAg behaved exactly like Wnt, stimulating cell growth. Thanks to more "fine tuning", it was possible to stimulate the formation of stem cells-derived tissue balls that resemble the small intestine.
But that's not all. When FLAg was injected into the gastrointestinal tract of laboratory mice, intestinal stem cells were activated in animals, showing, on the one hand, that antibodies are stable and functional inside the body, and on the other hand, that a simple injection is sufficient to start the regeneration process. At the same time, scientists claim that they can develop other specific variants of FLAg for the regeneration of the lungs, liver, bones and other tissues of our body.
Vladimir Kuznetsov
