Source: University of Rochester Medical Center
Date: October 10, 2007
Summary:
Researchers have discovered a key protein that controls how stem cells "choose" to become either skeletal muscle cells that move limbs, or smooth muscle cells that support blood vessels, according to a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The results not only provide insight into the development of muscle types in the human fetus, but also suggest new ways to treat atherosclerosis and cancer, diseases that involve the creation of new blood vessels from stem cell reserves that would otherwise replace worn out skeletal muscle. The newly discovered mechanism also suggests that some current cancer treatments may weaken muscle, and that physician researchers should start watching to see if a previously undetected side effect exists. In the current study a team of researchers at the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that a transcription factor called myocardin may be the master regulator of whether stem cells become skeletal or smooth muscle.
