Researchers Discover Two Proteins that Regulate Potassium in Stem
Cells
The surprise discovery could mean better detection and treatment of
nerve and heart diseases.
Newswise — Researchers at Texas Tech University and the University of
Wisconsin have discovered two proteins that control potassium
regulation in stem cells found in the embryonic brain of rats.
Understanding this potassium regulation and how these proteins work
can help researchers develop better detection and treatment methods
for diseases of nervous system and the heart, said Dean O. Smith,
vice president for research at Texas Tech. The findings were
published in the journal PLoS ONE.
Since these stem cells had not yet developed specialized properties
of nerve or muscle cells, the potassium regulated by these proteins
is probably required for the stem cell to divide, Smith said.
"These voltage-gated, potassium-channel proteins are vitally
important in the brain and in muscle, including the heart," Smith
said. "If we can understand how and when they develop in stem cells
as they change into nerve and muscle cells, then we can open the door
to further exploitation of this knowledge in the detection and
treatment of diseases that include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and
cardiovascular diseases, just to name a few."
All cells, including stem cells, need potassium to divide, Smith
said. When grown, muscle and nerve cells require potassium to
contract and to relay information throughout the brain. The
availability of this potassium is highly regulated in mature cells,
and disruption can lead to serious health disorders. Therefore,
scientists want to understand this regulatory mechanism and learn
when it appears in the developing embryo.
"We kind of discovered these proteins by accident," Smith
said. "Originally, we intended to make these stem cells differentiate
into nerve cells that might then be suitable for transplanting into
another animal to repair brain damage. To be sure the cells had
differentiated, we examined the potassium channels that are normally
found in mature nerve cells. As a control, we did the same tests on
undifferentiated stem cells expecting not to find them. But, to our
surprise, they too had the same potassium channels."
Other tests indicated that these stem cells were clearly not
differentiated into nerve cells and could not function as such, Smith
said. Therefore, these potassium channels must play some other role
in stem cells development.
"We're not sure what yet," he said. "But we think it might relate to
cell replication. These two proteins are found in all mammals, and
similar ones are found in animals such as fruit flies and frogs."
http://www.newswise
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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