
Chip Reprograms Cells to Regenerate Damaged Tissue in Mice - tdurden
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chip-reprograms-cells-to-regenerate-damaged-tissue/
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carapace
> a genetic cocktail that rapidly converts skin cells into endothelial cells

> The transformed cells also appeared to secrete reprogramming materials in
> extracellular vesicles (EVs) that targeted deeper tissue. Injecting mice
> with EVs harvested from the skin of other treated mice was as effective as
> using the chip itself.

So... the "genetic cocktail" acts like a virus?

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JPLeRouzic
Virus are basically a piece of genetic material with some coating.

An expert told recently that EVs are very dangerous stuff.

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trophycase
My question here is what are the side effects? It seems like something like
this would already happen naturally if there were no significant trade offs

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reasonattlm
Evolution doesn't optimize for benefits to the individual. If it did, we'd all
regenerate like salamanders.

That any sort of cell therapy or signaling change works at all to improve
health is indicative that the standard issue biochemistry in mammals is
suboptimal.

The risk from this sort of thing, like all efforts to change cell behavior
towards greater tissue maintenance, is cancer. One of the most interesting
aspects of the whole field of regenerative medicine is the degree to which
cancer hasn't emerged, however. There seems to be considerable leeway for
crude methods to improve regeneration to work without large increases in
cancer risk.

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Retric
Cancer risks over the next 50 years are hard to test for.

However, I suspect survival is a larger issue. A mouse with 3 legs seems
unlikely to make it long enough for regeneration to help.

