Saudi Arabia, Japan strengthen cultural collaboration with new MoU    Slovak president meets Saudi delegation to bolster trade and investment ties    Civil Defense warns of thunderstorms across Saudi Arabia until Tuesday    Saudi defense minister meets with Swedish state secretary    Navigating healthcare's future: Solutions for a sustainable system    Sixth foreign tourist dies of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos    Hungary's Orbán vows to ignore war crimes arrest warrant for Netanyahu    Russia gives North Korea million barrels of oil, breaking sanctions: report    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    OMODA&JAECOO: Unstoppable global cumulative sales over 360,000 units    Al Hilal doesn't need extra support to bring new players, CEO says    Saudi Arabia sees 73.7% rise in investment licenses in Q3 2024    Rafael Nadal: Farewell to the 'King of Clay'    Indonesia shocks Saudi Arabia with 2-0 victory in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    GASTAT report: 45.1% of Saudis are overweight    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Worms may show the way to human nerve cell repair
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 24 - 01 - 2009

Researchers believe they have found a potential way to regenerate nerves by stimulating a gene and said they hope their work in worms may some day help people with spinal cord injuries.
The gene is part of a network, or pathway, of four genes that appear to be essential for nerve repair, they reported in the journal Science.
“We found a pathway that not only regenerates nerves in the worm, but also exists in humans, and we think it serves the same purpose,” Michael Bastiani of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, who led the study, said in a statement.
Bastiani said the gene could serve as a target for a future drug that could “vastly improve the ability of a neuron to regenerate after injury.”
In humans, nerve fibers in the arms and legs can regenerate, but in the brain and spinal cord, they do not. Many teams are working to understand why.
Bastiani's team looked to nematode worms for clues. Using an advanced research technique called RNA interference, the team systematically blocked the action of 5,000 worm genes to isolate those important for nerve repair.
They found a gene called dlk-1 was essential to the process at every stage of the worm's life.
When they used genetic engineering to block this gene network, the worms were unable to repair nerve damage.
But when they stimulated the gene – making it more active than normal –worms with damaged nerves recovered much more quickly.
Curiously, this network of genes is not used by the nervous system during normal development in the embryo, but it is essential for nerve repair after birth. “Most of us believed that virtually everything we found in regeneration also would be involved in development,” Bastiani said.
Bastiani and colleagues noted that to be effective, the dlk-1 gene must be stimulated soon after injury to make a protein that stimulates repair, suggesting there might be “a time window in which you have to activate this pathway.”
Many teams have been working on finding ways to block proteins that inhibit nerve repair in adults.
Last year, a team at Children's Hospital Boston reported in the journal Science they were able to stimulate nerve regeneration in mice with damaged optic nerves by turning off proteins that keep adult nerve cells from growing.
A separate team from the biotechnology firm Genentech Inc was able to stimulate nerve regeneration by blocking chemical signals that create a hostile environment for nerve repair.


Clic here to read the story from its source.