ConceivingConcepts.com

Carbon monoxide therapy may prevent miscarriage

shelbydburns — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:24:38 +0000

Low dose carbon monoxide therapy is able to restore placental function and even prevent fetal death without negative side effects. Placental function can be compromised when blood flow is not sufficient for growth. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is essential for the growth of blood vessels that supply the placenta with nutrients and also important for establishing blood flow in the umbilical cord. Not enough HO-1 can lead to restriction in the growth of the fetus and even fetal death and miscarriage. Experiments on mice show that low dose carbon monoxide therapy can remedy the problem.

Intrauterine growth restriction because of placental function and reduced blood flow can result in low birth weight babies, also miscarriage and perinatal death. Low levels of HO-1 are also associated with pre-eclampsia and miscarriage. New research shows that carbon monoxide can mimic the effect of HO-1.

“At the levels used to prevent fetal death we found that inhaled low dose car on monoxide was anti-inflammatory. It reduced the amount of cell death (apoptosis), and increased levels of the anti-apoptotic molecule BAG-1, in the placenta and additionally increased the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is associated with angiogenesis and blood vessel repair,” said Prof. Ana Claudia Zenclussen, research leader.

Babies who survive intrauterine growth restriction have a lifelong increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and renal disease. This treatment may provide critical help to those mothers who are at risk. The dose must be carefully administered. If too high, there was damage to the mouse fetus. “It is very important, given the inherent dangers in using carbon monoxide, that the dose and length of treatment are tightly controlled,” cautioned Prof. Zenclussen.

Source: MedicalNewsToday, Medical Gas Research

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allycatsapphire@yahoo.com — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:13:08 +0000

Gatekeeper found which controls sperm production

shelbydburns — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:42:49 +0000

Researchers from Yale University have discovered how the “guardian of the genome” administers quality control in sperm production. It may also be the key to showing how quality control is maintained in other types of cells as well.

The research is ground breaking and broad in its scope. The discovery opens up the potential of developing new forms of birth control and fertility treatments. It may even be the start of new ways to treat many forms of cancer.

The key regulatory gene in all of this is call p53. Sperm and other cells go through a quality control check which is triggered by p53. If there is any damaged DNA detected the cell is destroyed. Because of this intolerance for imperfect, the p53 cell has been called the “guardian of the genome”. It is so important that damage to p53 has been implicated in many types of cancer.

By studying sperm production in mice, researchers have found p53 supervisor. “We have identified p53’s new boss, which controls p53 in a way that had been hypothesized before but had not been shown in any animal,” said Haifan Lin, professor cell biology and of genetics, director of the Yale Stem Cell Center and senior author of the study.

They discovered a regulator called Pumilo 1 which controls key micro-RNA molecules that interact with p53 in sperm production. Researchers were able to observe the effect Pumilo 1 had on p53, sending into hyperdrive and causing it to actually reduce sperm production by becoming too selective and destroying too many sperm.

“This is a crucial gate-keeping mechanism which allows bad cells, but not good cells, to be killed,” Lin said. “This same process may be at play in other tissues, such as cancer.”

Source: MedicalNewsToday, Current Biology