Discoveries
Study provides blueprint for treatment of liver disease
Ronald DePinho, M.D. (left), and K. Lenhard Rudolph, M.D.
Thanks to new research at Dana-Farber, scientists now have a better idea of why the human liver is such a resilient organ — and why it sometimes fails.
Doctors have long marveled at liver cells' ability to regenerate after being damaged by parasites, alcoholism, or hepatitis infection. But their recuperative powers appear to have a limit: After years or decades of repeated damage, the liver loses its ability to filter toxins from the blood, setting the stage for cirrhosis and, sometimes, cancer.
In a study published earlier this year, researchers immuled by Ronald DePinho, M.D., and K. Lenhard Rudolph, M.D., proposed that the trigger for cirrhosis lies in tiny structures called telomeres, strands of DNA that sit at the ends of chromosomes and set a limit on how many times cells may divide.
The investigators note that in conditions such as cirrhosis, in which cell damage is repeatedly followed by new cell growth, the gradual erosion of telomeres helps spark the disease. Not only that, but the study suggests using genes to rebuild telomeres may offer a new way of treating or preventing cirrhosis, the world's seventh-leading cause of death by disease.
Other Dana-Farber researchers involved in the study were Sandy Chang, M.D., Ph.D., and Melissa Millard. This research was reported in Science, Feb. 18, 2000.
