Author: Ruchi Shah

Ruchi Shah

Posts by Ruchi Shah

The Extracellular Matrix, a Multitasking Marvel

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In part II of this series, we reveal how the ECM helps body cells move around, a process vital for wounds to heal and a fetus to grow. Here we introduce the extracellular matrix (ECM) and discuss how it makes our tissues stiff or squishy, solid or see-through.

When we think about how our bodies are made and what they do, we usually focus on organs, tissues and cells. These structures have well-known roles. But around, within and between them is a less understood material that also plays an essential part in making us what we are.

This gelatinous filler material is known as the extracellular matrix (ECM). Once thought to be the biological equivalent of bubble wrap, we now know that the ECM is a dynamic, physiologically active component of all our tissues. It guides cell shape, orientation and function.

The ECM is found in all of our body parts. In some tissues, it’s a thin layer separating cells, like mortar between bricks. In other tissues, it’s the major constituent.

The ECM is most prevalent in connective tissue, the material that forms our skeletons, cushions our internal organs and winds between blood vessels and around nerves. In connective tissue, the ECM is more abundant than the cells suspended within it.

The extracellular matrix meets the needs of each body part. In teeth and bones, it’s rock-hard. In corneas, it’s a transparent gel that acts like a camera lens. In tendons, it forms strong fibers that bind muscle to bone. Credit: Stock image.

What makes the ECM truly unique is its variability: Its texture, composition and functions vary by body part. That’s because the ECM’s deceptively simple recipe of water, fibrous proteins and carbohydrates has virtually endless variations.

In general, the fibrous proteins give the ECM its texture and help cells adhere properly. Carbohydrates in the ECM absorb water and swell to form a gel that acts as an excellent shock absorber. Continue reading “The Extracellular Matrix, a Multitasking Marvel”

Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

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More than 70 percent of new drugs approved within the past 30 years originated from trees, sea creatures and other organisms that produce substances they need to survive. Since ancient times, people have been searching the Earth for natural products to use—from poison dart frog venom for hunting to herbs for healing wounds. Today, scientists are modifying them in the laboratory for our medicinal use. Here’s a peek at some of the products in nature’s medicine cabinet.

Vampire bat

A protein called draculin found in the saliva of vampire bats is in the last phases of clinical testing as a clot-buster for stroke patients. Vampire bats are able to drink blood from their victims because draculin keeps blood from clotting. The first phases of clinical trials have shown that the protein’s anti-coagulative properties could give doctors more time to treat stroke patients and lower the risk of bleeding in the brain.

Continue reading “Nature’s Medicine Cabinet”

Data-Mining Study Explores Health Outcomes from Common Heartburn Drugs

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Results of a data-mining study suggest a link between a common heartburn drug and heart attacks. Credit: Stock image.

Scouring through anonymized health records of millions of Americans, data-mining scientists found an association between a common heartburn drug and an elevated risk for heart attacks. Their preliminary results suggest that there may be a link between the two factors.

For 60 million Americans, heartburn is a painful and common occurrence caused by stomach acid rising through the esophagus. It’s treated by drugs such as proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) that lower acid production in the stomach. Taken by about one in every 14 Americans, PPIs, which include Nexium and Prilosec, are the most popular class of heartburn drugs.

PPIs have long been thought to be completely safe for most users. But a preliminary laboratory study published in 2013 suggested that this may not be the case. The study, led by a team of researchers at Stanford University, showed that PPIs could affect biochemical reactions outside of their regular acid suppression action that would have harmful effects on the heart. Continue reading “Data-Mining Study Explores Health Outcomes from Common Heartburn Drugs”

Meet Sarkis Mazmanian and the Bacteria That Keep Us Healthy

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Sarkis K. Mazmanian
Credit: New York Academy of Sciences
Sarkis K. Mazmanian, Ph.D.
Born in: The country of Lebanon, moved to Los Angeles when he was 1
Fields: Microbiology, immunology, neuroscience
Works at: California Institute of Technology
Awards won: Many, including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant
Most proud of: The success of his trainees! “There’s nothing that comes close to the gratification and joy I feel when a student or research fellow goes on to be an independent scientist.”
When not in the lab or mentoring students, he’s: Spending time with his family, including his 1-year-old-son or going for an occasional run

As a child, Sarkis Mazmanian frequently took things apart to figure out how they worked. At the age of 12, he dismantled his family’s entire television set—to the dismay of his parents and the unsuccessful TV repairman.

“I wasn’t aware of this at the time, but maybe that was some sort of a foreshadowing that I would enjoy science,” Mazmanian says. “Scientists take biological systems apart to understand how they work.”

Mazmanian never thought he’d become a microbiologist, let alone a leading expert in the field. He began studying microbiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), because it was the major that allowed him to do the most hands-on research. But as soon as he entered the field, he fell in love with the complexities of microbial organisms and the efficiency of their functions. Continue reading “Meet Sarkis Mazmanian and the Bacteria That Keep Us Healthy”

Elements That Keep Us Alive Also Give Color to Fireworks

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Looking up at the night sky this Fourth of July, you might wonder what gives fireworks their vivid colors. The bright hues result from chemical elements that are also essential for life. Chemists and other researchers have been uncovering their roles in a range of important biological processes.

By mass, about 96 percent of our bodies are made of four key elements: oxygen (65 percent), carbon (18.5 percent), hydrogen (9.5 percent) and nitrogen (3.3 percent). These elements do not give color to fireworks, but they are found in our body’s most abundant and important molecules, including water, proteins and DNA.

A dozen or so other elements—mostly metals—make up the remaining 4 percent. Present in minuscule amounts, these elements are involved in everything from transporting oxygen and releasing hormones to regulating blood pressure and maintaining bone strength. They also add a burst of color when put in to a fireworks recipe. Here are several examples.

Continue reading “Elements That Keep Us Alive Also Give Color to Fireworks”

Preventing Sepsis in Half the Time

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Human digestive system
A new study suggests that an antibiotic regimen half as long as the standard course could be just as effective in treating intra-abdominal infections and preventing sepsis. Credit: Stock image.

When treating infections, the most critical actions are to quash the infection at its site of origin and prevent it from spreading. If allowed to spread to the bloodstream, an infection could result in body-wide inflammation known as sepsis that can cause organ failure and death.

Intra-abdominal infections, most often caused by gut bacteria, can lead to painful inflammation and present a high risk for sepsis. These infections, which include appendicitis, are some of the most common illnesses around the world.

A standard treatment regimen includes surgically removing the original infection and then prescribing antibiotics to keep the infection from coming back and to prevent sepsis. Currently, doctors administer antibiotics until 2 days after the symptoms disappear, for a total of up to 2 weeks.

Like many other researchers, University of Virginia’s Robert Sawyer Exit icon wondered if treating intra-abdominal infections with shorter antibiotic courses could be just as effective as the standard treatment. To find out, he and a team of researchers from around the country designed the Study to Optimize Peritoneal Infection Therapy (STOP-IT). Continue reading “Preventing Sepsis in Half the Time”