MicroRNAs hold promise for treating diseases in blood vessels

A newly discovered mechanism controls whether muscle cells in blood vessels hasten the development of both atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, according to an article published online today in the journal Nature. The study was led by the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) in San Francisco, with key contributions from the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Thanks to stem cells, humans develop from a single cell embryo into a complex being with about 250 unique cell types. As the fetus develops, cells divide and multiply (proliferate) in many generations and specialize (differentiate) with each generation until millions of functional cells result (bone, nerve, blood, skin, muscle, etc.). To serve specific roles in the body, some stem... [read full story]                    

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