{"id":15835,"date":"2017-12-21T10:43:37","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T18:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/?post_type=disclosure&p=15835"},"modified":"2018-10-03T14:02:57","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T21:02:57","slug":"getting-straight-heart-matter-stem-cells","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/getting-straight-heart-matter-stem-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"Iendo directo al grano en c\u00e9lulas madre"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA\u2014The process by which embryonic stem cells develop into heart cells is a complex process involving the precisely timed activation of several molecular pathways and at least 200 genes. Now, Salk Institute scientists have found a simpler way to go from stem cells to heart cells that involves turning off a single gene.<\/p>\n

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This cartoon illustrates how the Yap protein (dog) inhibits the expression of the Wnt gene, preventing an intermediate complex (couple sitting on the balloon) from binding to DNA and signaling to various types of cellular machinery (diver, seated boy) to turn on the cardiomyocyte genes (swimmer in the ocean). <\/p>\n

Haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/a> para obtener una imagen en alta resoluci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

Cr\u00e9dito: Instituto Salk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The work, which appears in Genes & Development<\/a><\/em> on December 21, 2017, offers scientists a streamlined method to arrive at functioning heart cells (cardiomyocytes) for both research and regenerative therapies. <\/p>\n

“This discovery is really exciting because it means we can potentially create a reliable protocol for taking normal cells and moving them very efficiently from stem cells to heart cells,” says Salk Professor Kathy Jones<\/a>, the senior author of the paper. “Researchers and commercial companies want to easily generate cardiomyocytes to study their capacity for repair in heart attacks and disease\u2014this brings us one step closer to being able to do that.”<\/p>\n

In 2015, Jones’ lab, which studies proteins that manage cell growth and development, discovered that two different cellular processes cooperate to enable embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to develop into specific cell types like pancreas, liver and heart. The team found that the Wnt pathway loads up the cellular machinery to begin copying and activating genes, and then the Activin pathway ramps up that activity many fold. Together, the two pathways (named for key proteins) direct stem cells to an intermediate stage from which they further progress into cells of specific organs. By exposing the cells to a signaling molecule at two different timepoints, the team could trigger first Wnt, then Activin, and end up with specialized cells.<\/p>\n

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