Preventing tissue damage from oxygen deprivation
January 7, 2008 | Source: KurzweilAI
Flanders Institute for Biotechnology researchers prevented cell death in muscle cells undergoing severe oxygen deprivation by blocking PHD1, a cellular oxygen sensor, in two types of mice–mice unable to produce PHD1 and healthy mice treated briefly with a PHD1-blocker–and found that blocking PHD1 protected muscles against hypoxia-induced damage.
The reduced-metabolism state made by blocking PHD1 is similar to hibernation and could have multiple medical applications such as reducing damage from heart attacks and strokes, or increasing the viability of transplant organs.