英国科学家发现干细胞与肺癌的关系

细胞海洋

Scientists discover stem cell clue to lung cancer development
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% c: P8 [' J$ C7 c8 z2 E/ _Cancer Research UK scientists have revealed that stem cells become 'activated' in severely damaged lungs and help to repair them, according to a study published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences* today. % N6 J0 O3 J- `2 c2 {( J

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5 U7 L' s; z3 C4 s3 LThese findings provide a crucial new insight into how lungs function on a cellular level and could help scientists devise a test to detect the early stages of lung cancer in people who are at a high risk of developing damaged lungs ?such as long term smokers.
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The primary role of stem cells is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found. But because stem cells are rare in comparison to normal cells, identifying exactly where they are and how they work has remained elusive.0 b( Q) v9 h0 B2 p  z2 u
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A team of scientists from Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute and led by Professor Barry Stripp from Duke University Medical School in the US used a unique 'whole-lung' imaging method to examine and identify the location of stem cells in the lung tissue of mice, and determine the role they play in both healthy and damaged lungs.