PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration

Researchers discover biochemical pathway that links nail growth to fingertip regeneration

2013-06-13
(Press-News.org) Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now. In a paper published today in the journal Nature, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center shed light on this rare regenerative power in mammals, using genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation. The findings hold promise for amputees who may one day be able to benefit from therapies that help the body regenerate lost limbs.

"Everyone knows that fingernails keep growing, but no one really knows why," says lead author Mayumi Ito, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU School of Medicine. Nor is much understood about the link between nail growth and the regenerative ability of the bone and tissue beneath the nail. Now, Dr. Ito and team have discovered an important clue in this process: a population of self-renewing stem cells in the nail matrix, a part of the nail bed rich in nerve endings and blood vessels that stimulate nail growth. Moreover, the scientists have found that these stem cells depend upon a family of proteins known as the "Wnt signaling network"—the same proteins that play a crucial role in hair and tissue regeneration—to regenerate bone in the fingertip.

"When we blocked the Wnt-signaling pathway in mice with amputated fingertips, the nail and bone did not grow back as they normally would," says Dr. Ito. Even more intriguing, the researchers found that they could manipulate the Wnt pathway to stimulate regeneration in bone and tissue just beyond the fingertip. "Amputations of this magnitude ordinarily do not grow back," says Dr. Ito. These findings suggest that Wnt signaling is essential for fingertip regeneration, and point the way to therapies that could help people regenerate lost limbs. An estimated 1.7 million people in the U.S. live with amputations.

The team's next step is to zoom in on the molecular mechanisms that control how the Wnt signaling pathway interacts with the nail stem cells to influence bone and nail growth.

### About NYU Langone Medical Center NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one of the nation's premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals – Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, recognized as one of the nation's leading hospitals dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children's health services; and Rusk Rehabilitation, inpatient and outpatient therapy services devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine – plus NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center's tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to http://www.NYULMC.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Low birth weight could be a risk factor for age-related vision loss: UAlberta medical research

2013-06-13
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta recently published their findings that rats with restricted growth in the womb, causing low birth weights when born, were most susceptible to developing age-related vision loss, compared to their normal weight counterparts. The research team members say additional work needs to be done to see if this same link exists in people, and if it does, doctors will need to better monitor vision concerns in adults who were born with a low birth weight. "The consequence of our findings is that we are providing evidence for the need ...

Livermore develops the world's deepest ert imaging system for CO2 sequestration

2013-06-13
LIVERMORE, Calif.-- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have broken the record for tracking the movement and concentration of carbon dioxide in a geologic formation using the world's deepest Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) system. The research provides insight into the effects of geological sequestration to address the impact of greenhouse gases. The team led by LLNL's Charles Carrigan obtained time lapse electrical resistivity images during the injection of more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) more than 10,000 feet deep in an oil ...

Research shows male guppies reproduce even after death

2013-06-13
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Performing experiments in a river in Trinidad, a team of evolutionary biologists has found that male guppies continue to reproduce for at least ten months after they die, living on as stored sperm in females, who have much longer lifespans (two years) than males (three-four months). "Populations that are too small can go extinct because close relatives end up breeding with each other and offspring suffer from inbreeding," said David Reznick, a professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside and the principal investigator of the research ...

Commonly-prescribed drugs may influence the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease

2013-06-13
Multiple drug classes commonly prescribed for common medical conditions are capable of influencing the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. The findings are published online in the journal PLoS One. Led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, the Saunders Family Chair and Professor in Neurology at Mount Sinai, a research team used a computer algorithm to screen 1,600 commercially-available medications to assess their impact on the brain accumulation of beta-amyloid, a protein abnormally accumulated in the ...

Study helps managers identify regions with multiple threat potential, including wildfires

2013-06-13
PORTLAND, Ore. June 12, 2013. A recent study in the Journal of Forestry now offers managers a tool to help them identify regions exposed to multiple forest threats. The tool uses a novel 15-mile radius neighborhood analysis to highlight locations where threats are more concentrated relative to other areas, and identifies where multiple threats may intersect. It is a technique that may have never been used before to describe forest threats, according to the researchers. "Policymakers and managers often rely on maps showing where forest threats are most prevalent; they ...

Questions rise about seeding for ocean C02 sequestration

2013-06-13
LEMONT, Ill --- A new study on the feeding habits of ocean microbes calls into question the potential use of algal blooms to trap carbon dioxide and offset rising global levels. These blooms contain iron-eating microscopic phytoplankton that absorb C02 from the air through the process of photosynthesis and provide nutrients for marine life. But one type of phytoplankton, a diatom, is using more iron that it needs for photosynthesis and storing the extra in its silica skeletons and shells, according to an X-ray analysis of phytoplankton conducted at the U.S. Department ...

Scripps Research Institute team points to brain's 'dark side' as key to cocaine addiction

2013-06-13
LA JOLLA, CA – June 12, 2013 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that an emotion-related brain region called the central amygdala—whose activity promotes feelings of malaise and unhappiness—plays a major role in sustaining cocaine addiction. In experiments with rats, the TSRI researchers found signs that cocaine-induced changes in this brain system contribute to anxiety-like behavior and other unpleasant symptoms of drug withdrawal—symptoms that typically drive an addict to keep using. When the researchers blocked specific brain receptors ...

Life underground

2013-06-13
Microbes are living more than 500 feet beneath the seafloor in 5 million-year-old sediment, according to new findings by researchers at the University of Delaware and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Genetic material in mud from the bottom of the ocean — called the deep biosphere —revealed an ecosystem of active bacteria, fungi and other microscopic organisms at depths deeper than a skyscraper is high. The findings were published in Nature on June 12. "This type of examination shows active cells," said co-author Jennifer F. Biddle, assistant professor of ...

'Spiritual' young people more likely to commit crimes than 'religious' ones, Baylor study finds

2013-06-13
Young adults who deem themselves "spiritual but not religious" are more likely to commit property crimes — and to a lesser extent, violent ones — than those who identify themselves as either "religious and spiritual" or "religious but not spiritual," according to Baylor University researchers. The sociologists' study, published in the journal Criminology, also showed that those in a fourth category — who say they are neither spiritual nor religious —are less likely to commit property crimes than the "spiritual but not religious" individuals. But no difference was found ...

NASA finds Tropical Depression Yagi's strongest side, now waning

2013-06-13
Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite on June 11 showed that Tropical Depression Yagi's strongest quadrant was east of its center. However, since them the storm has weakened after running into an upper-level low pressure area and cooler waters. When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Yagi on June 11 it was a tropical storm with strong thunderstorms on its eastern side. An infrared image of the storm was taken from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite on June 11 at 12:05 a.m. EDT. The areas with the coldest cloud top temperatures ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

NHS urged to offer single pill to all over-50s to prevent heart attacks and strokes

Australian researchers call for greater diversity in genomics

The pot is already boiling for 2% of the world’s amphibians: new study

A new way to predict cancer's spread? Scientists look at 'stickiness' of tumor cells

Prehistoric bone tool ‘factory’ hints at early development of abstract reasoning in human ancestors

Study: Vaping does not help US tobacco smokers quit

Insect populations are declining — and that is not a good thing

Scientists discover genes to grow bigger tomatoes and eggplants

Effects of combining coronary calcium score with treatment on plaque progression in familial coronary artery disease

Cancer screening 3 years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

Trajectories of sleep duration, sleep onset timing, and continuous glucose monitoring in adults

Sports gambling and drinking behaviors over time

For better quantum sensing, go with the flow

Toxic environmental pollutants linked to faster aging and health risks in US adults

Jerome Morris voted AERA President-Elect; key members elected to AERA Council

Study reveals how agave plants survive extreme droughts

Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) launches a second funding opportunity to accelerate novel tool development to advance Parkinson's disease research

New study: Eating mangos daily shown to improve insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control

Highly radioactive nuclear waste – how to keep it from oblivion

Generations ‘sync’ up in rural ‘glades’ to boost technology use for health

Unveiling the mechanism of maintenance of replication and transcription in mitochondria

Pioneering research into brain cancer is awarded the world’s largest brain research prize, The Brain Prize

Concrete evidence: Japanese buildings absorb 14% of cement production's carbon footprint

New study examines how physics students perceive recognition

For some, childhood adversity can promote resilience to anxiety disorders

A sustainable iron catalyst for water oxidation in renewable energy

Cloud–radiation feedbacks found to be key to the diverse tropical pacific warming projections

Body image perceptions take shape from early childhood, psychologists reveal

Can long-term use of anti-inflammatory medications prevent dementia?

Review supports introducing small amounts of food allergens during early childhood

[Press-News.org] Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration
Researchers discover biochemical pathway that links nail growth to fingertip regeneration