“We really didn’t know which way it would go,” he said.
To find out, the researchers generated versions of the enzymes that would specifically move into the nucleus and bypass the mitochondria. They discovered that this relocation fortified the cells, keeping them alive. They demonstrated that this process worked in both heart cells generated from human stem cells and in mice exposed to chemotherapy.
“This seems to be a new mechanism by which heart cells can defend themselves against chemotherapy damage,” noted Rehman, who is also a member of the University of Illinois Cancer Center.
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