AsianScientist (Aug. 22, 2016) – We pop pills to relieve a headache or treat an infection, but could a pill even help to regenerate an organ?
That could one day be a reality, as Chinese researchers have discovered and tested a drug in mice that promotes liver repair. Their work was published in Science Translational Medicine.
Currently, we rely on complicated therapeutic strategies such as delivering biomaterials and regenerative cells to specific spots in the body to repair and restore injured tissue.
“Most regenerative medicine strategies have focused on delivering biomaterials and cells, yet there is the untapped potential for drug-induced regeneration with good specificity and safety profiles,” wrote first author Dr. Fan Fuqin of Xiamen University and colleagues in the paper.
In the present study, the research team focused on an important molecular signaling pathway called the Hippo pathway, which regulates organ size and growth. The researchers looked for a small molecule that could block the action of two enzymes in this pathway, MST1 and MST2, that normally prevent cells from proliferating.
In the process, they discovered the small molecular inhibitor XMU-MP-1, which blocked MST1/2 activity and allowed cells to proliferate and avoid programmed cell death.
The inhibitor helped to regenerate liver tissue in several mouse models of liver damage, including damage by acetaminophen overdose, the leading cause of acute liver failure worldwide. Interestingly, the researchers found that the drug protected mice against a model of ulcerative colitis as well.
These findings may pave the way for medicines that help to rebuild organs, the researchers say.
The article can be found at: Fan et al. (2016) Pharmacological Targeting of Kinases MST1 and MST2 Augments Tissue Repair and Regeneration.
———
Source: Science Translational Medicine; Photo: Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
