Netrins Reverse Damage in Mouse Model of Diabetes

Researchers have used a mouse model to demonstrate that netrins, proteins that help guide axon growth in the developing embryo, are capable of reversing damage caused to nervous and vascular tissues in animals with diabetes.

In the developing nervous system, axon guidance and the establishment of
appropriate neuronal connections involve a number of chemo-attractant and
chemo-repellent molecules. Netrins are related to the extracellular matrix protein laminin and comprise a family of secreted molecules capable of guiding the axon growth cone.

Investigators at the University of Utah (Salt Lake City, USA) had previously shown that netrin-1 promoted blood vessel growth in cell cultures. In the current study they treated ischemic and diabetic mice with netrin-1 and compared results to those obtained with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a known stimulator of vascular growth.

Their findings, published in the June 29, 2006, online edition of Science Express, revealed that in the ischemic mice netrin-1 and VEGF promoted blood vessel growth equally well. However, in the diabetic mice, netrin-1 was a significantly more potent stimulator of blood vessel and nerve growth than VEGF.

"We now have a factor that attracts both blood vessels and nerves--that is why it is unique for diabetes,” explained senior author Dr. Dean Y. Li, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Utah. "This demonstrates that netrins are critical for development and may be important as a new therapy.”



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