Åldrande en anticancerstrategi

published Sep 07, 2006 05:45 by admin ( last modified Sep 07, 2006 05:45 )

Enlig en artikel i Nature, har man hittat en gen (hos möss såklart) som tycks vara ansvarig för att reglera antalet stamceller som är tillgängliga i kroppen för reparation och förnyelse. Tanken är att antalet stamceller i kroppen regleras ner med stigande ålder, för att parera det ökande antalet genetiska skador som kommer med kroppens exponering till mutagena faktorer (strålning, oxidanter, kemiska ämnen, kopieringsfel osv).

New York Times skriver:

The critical gene, well known for its role in suppressing tumors, seems to mediate a profound balance between life and death. It weighs the generation of new replacement cells, required for continued life, against the risk of death from cancer, which is the inevitable outcome of letting cells divide.

To offset the increasing risk of cancer as a person ages, the gene gradually reduces the ability of stem cells to proliferate.

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The full implications are far from clear, but the finding that the cells are switched off with age does not seem too encouraging for researchers who hope to use a patient’s own adult stem cells to treat disease. That result may undercut opponents of research on human embryonic stem cells who argue that adult stem cells are enough to build new tissue.

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“There is no free lunch,’’ Dr. Sharpless said. “We are all doomed.”

Bugger.

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