![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/leprosy-ancient-disease-able-to-regenerate-organs/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/127629212_gettyimages-501209733.jpg&description=Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Leprosy can damage the nerves, leading to disabilityLeprosy bacteria may hold the secret to safely repairing and regenerating the body, researchers at the University of Edinburgh say. Animal experiments have uncovered the bacteria's remarkable ability to almost double the size of livers by stimulating healthy growth. It is a sneakily selfish act that gives the bacteria more tissue to infect. But working out how they do it could lead to new age-defying therapies, the scientists say.Leprosy causes disability when it infects the nerves, skin and eyes. Throughout history, those infected have been shunned. But the bacterium that causes it, Mycobacterium leprae, has other, unusual properties, including the ability to perform "biological alchemy", converting one type of bodily tissue into another, which are fascinating scientists.So the researchers turned to the only other animals to catch the disease - armadillos. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The armadillo is the only other known host for the leprosy bacteriumThe infection heads to the armoured animals' livers, where, the researchers found, it performed a controlled hijacking of the organ to reprogram it for its own purpose. "It was a totally unexpected," Prof Anura Rambukkana, from the University of Edinburgh's centre for regenerative medicine, told me.The results, published in Cell Reports Medicine, showed the liver nearly doubled in size. You might expect such growth to be defective or even cancerous - but detailed analysis showed it was both healthy and functional, complete with the usual array of blood vessels and bile ducts. "It is kind of mind-blowing," Prof Rambukkana said. "How do they do that? There is no cell therapy that can do that." It appears the leprosy bug is rewinding the developmental clock in the liver. Fully grown liver cells are metabolic powerhouses with hundreds of jobs in the body. But the bacteria are taking them back a stage - like becoming a){kind=link}
Leprosy bacteria may hold the secret to safely repairing and regenerating the body, researchers at the University of Edinburgh say.
Animal experiments have uncovered the bacteria’s remarkable ability to almost double the size of livers by stimulating healthy growth.
It is a sneakily selfish act that gives the bacteria more tissue to infect.
But working out how they do it could lead to new age-defying therapies, the scientists say.
Leprosy causes disability when it infects the nerves, skin and eyes.