5 ms·

Gene Therapy for a Failing Heart

61 points by bpierre 5y ago

grapescheesee 5y ago
Top of g0 0 gle. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34406358/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34406358/
DoreenMichele 5y ago
Can someone explain the Hippo signaling pathway "like I'm five." Or point me to a good source that is somewhat layman friendly?
- hashimotonomora 5y ago
  The Hippo signaling pathway controls organ size in animals through the regulation of cell replication and cell death. Mutations in this gene can produce tissue overgrowth.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- DoreenMichele 5y ago
  From an email reply to my question (edited by me and posted with permission): Important to angiogenesis -production of new blood vessels from existing blood vessels. Angiogenesis going wonky is known to tie into multiple You're Just Old issues, like rheumatoid arthritis. Hippo pathways rely on Serine and Threonine to function. Serine itself often requires Threonine to do its job. Notably, Serine and Threonine cannot be synthesized by the human body and have to be acquired through diet: Threonine is gotten in good amounts from cashews, almonds, cheese, beef, among other things. Serine is found in most nuts but especially peanuts, walnuts, and almonds, but also decently high in eggs and meat of more or less any kind. The medical world is mostly interested in the hippo pathway on the idea of it preventing cancer, as its primary job is to tell growing parts of the body to stop doing that growing thing. It's not actually well-understood currently and most articles repeat, word-for-word, the exact same summary of its functionality. It's worth noting that phosphorylation is an important outcome of the hippo pathway turning on. Phosphorylation itself is a fancy word referring to using phosphor/oxygen compound molecules to modify the mechanics of other chemical widgets. Phosphor in turn is really important to bone functionality -it seems likely that the bones being under-supported would reduce the effectiveness of the hippo pathways by virtue of denying the body the phosphor it needs to have the hippo pathway activating actually send its signals properly. Bones get mined for raw materials like calcium when the body is deficient. Getting your bones re-supported probably leads to the hippo pathway functioning more reliably/properly/at all.
  - xattt 5y ago
    Are you sure you mean rheumatoid arthritis? Osteoarthritis is the disease most often associated with old age, joint overuse in physically demanding occupations and cumulative trauma. Rheumatoid arthritis is disorder where joint cartilage is degraded through an autoimmune process, and can have onset as early as teens-to-20s.
    - DoreenMichele 5y ago
      Yup. This is the source I was given: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.00049/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.0004...
    - robbiep 5y ago
      RA features pannus formation in joint spaces/articulate surfaces so I can see interface here with anything involving angiogenesis
dogmatism 5y ago
Call me when it works. Until then, it sits on the dustheap of multiple failed trials of gene therapy for cardiomyopathies

61 points by bpierre 5y ago

Top of g0 0 gle. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34406358/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34406358/

Can someone explain the Hippo signaling pathway "like I'm five." Or point me to a good source that is somewhat layman friendly?

hashimotonomora 5y ago
The Hippo signaling pathway controls organ size in animals through the regulation of cell replication and cell death. Mutations in this gene can produce tissue overgrowth.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
DoreenMichele 5y ago
From an email reply to my question (edited by me and posted with permission): Important to angiogenesis -production of new blood vessels from existing blood vessels. Angiogenesis going wonky is known to tie into multiple You're Just Old issues, like rheumatoid arthritis. Hippo pathways rely on Serine and Threonine to function. Serine itself often requires Threonine to do its job. Notably, Serine and Threonine cannot be synthesized by the human body and have to be acquired through diet: Threonine is gotten in good amounts from cashews, almonds, cheese, beef, among other things. Serine is found in most nuts but especially peanuts, walnuts, and almonds, but also decently high in eggs and meat of more or less any kind. The medical world is mostly interested in the hippo pathway on the idea of it preventing cancer, as its primary job is to tell growing parts of the body to stop doing that growing thing. It's not actually well-understood currently and most articles repeat, word-for-word, the exact same summary of its functionality. It's worth noting that phosphorylation is an important outcome of the hippo pathway turning on. Phosphorylation itself is a fancy word referring to using phosphor/oxygen compound molecules to modify the mechanics of other chemical widgets. Phosphor in turn is really important to bone functionality -it seems likely that the bones being under-supported would reduce the effectiveness of the hippo pathways by virtue of denying the body the phosphor it needs to have the hippo pathway activating actually send its signals properly. Bones get mined for raw materials like calcium when the body is deficient. Getting your bones re-supported probably leads to the hippo pathway functioning more reliably/properly/at all.
- xattt 5y ago
  Are you sure you mean rheumatoid arthritis? Osteoarthritis is the disease most often associated with old age, joint overuse in physically demanding occupations and cumulative trauma. Rheumatoid arthritis is disorder where joint cartilage is degraded through an autoimmune process, and can have onset as early as teens-to-20s.
  - DoreenMichele 5y ago
    Yup. This is the source I was given: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.00049/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.0004...
  - robbiep 5y ago
    RA features pannus formation in joint spaces/articulate surfaces so I can see interface here with anything involving angiogenesis

dogmatism 5y ago

Call me when it works. Until then, it sits on the dustheap of multiple failed trials of gene therapy for cardiomyopathies