Scientists Discover that Leprosy has an Organ Regeneration Secret
Researchers say that leprosy may hold to the key to safe and effective organ regeneration, after discovering that leprosy can double the size of livers in armadillos by stimulating normal, healthy growth.
Their findings, published in the journal Cell Reports, reveal a previously unknown interaction of the leprosy bacterium with its host, in this study, an armadillo – the only one known one besides humans that the disease may manifest in.
The researchers found that leprosy appears to rewind the developmental clock of liver cells, effectively reprogramming them to be in an ‘adolescent’ state.
Regenerative medicine aims for ‘grown to order’ organs to replace those damaged by disease or age, but organ development is an extremely complex process which takes place in vivo and so far only limited progress has been made using in vitro models. The liver, a highly resilient organ, stops regenerating once it reaches its original size, making it difficult to study regeneration pathways.
Leprosy, also referred to as Hansen disease, is a chronic granulomatous infection generally caused by Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis, both of which primarily affect the skin and peripheral nerves. It also has the ability to convert body tissues from one type to another.
Researchers infected four cloned armadillos with the bacteria, and observed the growth of their livers. The bacteria enlarged the liver, basically give themselves more room – and this was accomplished in a way that left the livers perfectly functional and healthy.
The researchers suggest that, as with other body tissues, the bacteria-induced partial reprogramming also works in adult liver in vivo, turning hepatocytes into liver progenitor-like cells leading to proliferation and subsequent re-differentiation in the microenvironment created by the bacteria.
Prof Anura Rambukkana, from the University of Edinburgh’s centre for regenerative medicine described the discover as “completely unexpected”.
“It is kind of mind-blowing,” Prof Rambukkana told the BBC. “How do they do that? There is no cell therapy that can do that.”
