Scientists from University College London have found a new substance that stimulates nerve regeneration after injury and also protects heart tissue from damage after a heart attack. The research was published in the journal Nature.
Often, areas of dead tissue form when blood flow returns to the heart, which can cause problems later in life. The study’s authors found that administering a substance called 1938 in the first 15 minutes after a heart attack provided significant protection for heart tissue.
The scientists also tested the substance on nerve cells grown in the lab, which caused them to grow faster. Administration of the substance 1938 to the damaged sciatic nerve in mice accelerated the recovery of the hind limb muscles of the animals, indicating good nerve regeneration.
Substance 1938 activates the PI3K enzyme signaling pathway that helps control cell growth. PI3K is activated, for example, during wound healing, but its functions can also be “captured” by cancer cells, making them multiply faster. Cancer drugs that inhibit PI3K from working have been developed to limit tumor growth. The new study has become one of the few studies dedicated to the activation of the PI3K pathway.