A research group at Kyushu University is collaborating with Osaka University, Tokyo Medical University, Autonomous Medical University, Kyushu University, and Fukuoka University, and a protein called MFG-E8 is involved in the removal of cells that died during myocardial infarction. -For the first time in the world, we found that myofibroblasts phagocytose dead cells via E8.Development of a new treatment method for myocardial infarction is expected.
Myocardial infarction is a heart disease in which the coronary arteries that supply oxygen and nutrients to the cells of the heart are blocked by arteriosclerosis, and when it develops, many cells of the heart die rapidly.The dead cells are eaten by phagocytic cells such as macrophages, but the contents flow out from the dead cells that remain uneaten, inducing strong inflammation and exacerbating the pathological condition.If it can promote phagocytosis, it may improve the condition, but it was unclear what proteins are involved in phagocytosis.
This time, in a mouse experiment, the involvement of the MFG-E8 protein in the uptake of dead cells by phagocytic cells during myocardial infarction was clarified for the first time. MFG-E8 is a protein that mediates between dead cells and phagocytic cells and promotes phagocytosis. It is rarely present in the heart under normal conditions, and its expression level increases during myocardial infarction.It was also discovered that a group of cells called myofibroblasts, which are responsible for tissue fibrosis, produce MFG-E8 and efficiently phagocytose dead cells via this MFG-E8. Myofibroblasts expressing MFG-E8 were also observed after human myocardial infarction.In addition, MFG-E8 was administered to the heart after myocardial infarction for normal mice.As a result, the uptake of dead cells by phagocytic cells was promoted, inflammation was alleviated, and significant improvement in cardiac function was observed.
Since the main function of MFG-E8 is to promote the removal of dead cells by phagocytic cells, it is expected that there will be few side effects due to administration.This achievement is expected to lead to the development of new treatments and drugs for myocardial infarction.
