A study conducted by the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre’s Telomeres and Telomerase Group and Transgenic Mice Core Unit has discovered that the SIRT1 protein aids the cell reprogramming process. Cell reprogramming is the process that converts specialized cells back to embryonic stem cells. The process is important to regenerative medicine, seeing as embryonic stem cells can develop into different types of specialized cells. The study found that the SIRT1 protein plays a vital role in the cell reprogramming process related to the function of telomeres. Specifically, this protein prevents DNA damage that can occur with the lengthening of telomeres. In the past there was fear that the cell reprogramming process was dangerous in that many of the resulting cells were not safe due to DNA damage. The results of this study show that the SIRT1 protein decreases the risk of DNA damage in the cell reprogramming process, thus reducing the fear of using this process in the future for regenerative medicine.
Reference:
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO). (2014, April 21). A protein required for integrity of induced pluripotent stem cells. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 15, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140421093929.htm
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