In a large-animal model study, researchers have found that heart attack recovery is aided by injection of heart muscle cell spheroids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells, or hiPSCs, that overexpress cyclin D2 and are knocked out for human leukocyte antigen classes I and II. This research used a pig model of heart attacks.
Read more: Cell-based therapy improves outcomes in a pig model of heart attacks
Cells degrade components that are no longer needed through autophagy. New results show that a weak molecular interaction is essential for this process. By modifying this interaction, it is possible to artificially trigger autophagy, which could then enable the degradation of deposits in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, or support cancer therapies.
Read more: How our cells dispose of waste and ways to control it