Research at the University of Manchester has identified networks of proteins that control the fate of our body’s stem cells, findings that could aid progress towards new disease therapies.
Extracellular matrix networks control stem cell fate
Stem cells have the amazing ability to develop into different types of cells of the body, such as blood cells, muscle cells or brain cells. Remarkably, stem cells can also regenerate, essentially renewing themselves an unlimited number of times.
The surrounding environment is vital for all living things. This is no different for cells, whose environment is known as the extracellular matrix. Just as a worm burrows through soil, as a gazelle leaps across a plain, or as I become diverted by the alluring smell of Italian cooking, cells interact physically and chemically with their surroundings. These interactions, via cell surface receptors, control what cells do next, how they grow and divide, and how healthy they remain.
Extracellular matrix networks
Proteomics Clinical Applications cover, 2012, vol. 6 (no. 7-8)
My image features on the cover of the current issue of the journal Proteomics Clinical Applications.
The liver plays key roles in fighting infection, extracting energy from food, ridding the body of waste and other important functions. Although a healthy liver successfully performs these numerous jobs every day, it can be harmed when exposed to additional, repeated insults, such as alcohol misuse. Long-term, continuous damage to the liver leads to scarring of the tissue (fibrosis) and ultimately liver failure. In fact, liver disease is the fifth most common cause of death in the UK.
Fibrotic extracellular matrix
My paper has been published in the current issue of the journal Proteomics. The paper also makes the cover of the issue, which is a special issue on the theme of Cancer Proteomics.
Proteomics cover, 2012, vol. 12 (no. 13)
