A hitherto unknown role of the lungs in the formation of blood
Scientists discovered during the mouse study that the lungs play a previously unrecognized role in blood production. Analyses have shown that the lungs produce more than half of the thrombocytes that are extremely important in the blood clotting process also known as platelets. What’s more, an early unknown group of cells was identified in the lungs stem cells, which re can support blood processes rcze bone marrow.
Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco are behind the discovery. Although a previously unknown mechanism has been observed in rodents, researchers say the same should occur in humans.
A previously unknown pool of cells stem cells found in the lungs are capable of restoring the to increase blood production when the com rk of bone marrow, previously thought to be a major The primary site of blood production, they are incapable of doing so with of different causes.
– Our findings show that the lung is a more sophisticated organ than previously thought. They serve not only for respiration, but are also key elements in the production of component in the blood – said pulmonologist Professor Mark R. Looney, kt ry participated in the study. – What we observed in mice suggests that the lungs may play a key role in blood formation in humans as well – added the researcher.
The researchers’ findings may help c in understanding human diseases b, in which patients suffer from low platelet counts. The occasion raises the question of transplantation, how to com The stem cells in the lungs affect the biorc in the organ .
The discovery was made possible by refining an assay previously developed by Looney and his colleague Professor of Pathology Matthew F. Krummel’s two-photon microscopy imaging technique. This method allows observation of individual cells rek in the blood vessels of the lungs of a live rodent. Scientists used this technique to study the interaction between the immune system and circulating platelets in the lungs. They observed an unusually high number of megakaryocytes in, which re produce thrombocytes. Their presence in the lungs had been known for some time, but were thought to produce platelets only in the bone marrow.
From the lungs to the bone marrow
Further observations showed that megakaryocytes in the lungs of mice produce more than 10 million in platelets per hour. This suggests that more than half of the total production of thrombocytes in mice occur in the lungs and not in the bone marrow, as previously thought by experts.
The researchers also proved that the stem cells blood stem cells can move freely between the lungs and the bone marrow. This was proven using the megakaryocyte assay fluorescent markers in genetically modified rodents. They were then transplanted into the lungs of unmodified mice. Researchers did not have to wait long for fluorescent megakaryocytes to appear in the lungs.
– It is fascinating that megakaryocytes subr They chew their way from the bone marrow to the lungs to produce platelets – assessed a member of Looney’s team, Dr. Guadalupe Ortiz-Muñoz. – It is possible that the lungs are an ideal bioreactor for platelet production because of the mechanical action of blood, or perhaps because of some rych signal in molecular, about which e don’t know yet – she added.
The researchers performed another important experiment. Transplanted lungs with fluorescent megakaryocytes from mice with low platelet counts. Rapid production of thrombocytes was observed and quick return t to normal levels. The results of this experiment show that megakaryocytes from transplanted lungs stimulate the recipient’s body to produce sufficient platelets.
The results of the work of American scientists give hope to millions of os b sufferers of thrombocytopenia. – The observations made are changing existing paradigms about how cells form blood, biology and chor b lung and transplantation. The findings have direct clinical relevance and raise questions about the genesis of platelets and the function of megakaryocytes – assessed by study reviewer pulmonologist Guy A. Zimmerman.
The results of the California scientists’ work were published in the journal „Nature”.
