One of The World's Worst Parasites May Hide an Amazing Healing Effect

In an ironic twist, researchers have just discovered that a tissue- damaging disease has the potential to regenerate mammals.

One of the oldest and most persistent diseases is leprosy. Skin, nerves, and other tissues are damaged by these germs.

Leprosy is not very infectious. 95 percent of people who are exposed to the bacterium do not end up with the disease, and it can be cured with modern drugs.

In studying the interaction between the microbe and its host, researchers discovered that the parasites could reprogram cells.

A group of 12 animals that were not infectious were compared to a group of 45 armadillos that had been exposed to the disease.

The organs of the armadillos became supersized. The organs were still functioning normally with all the correct types of liver tissues in all the right places.

University of Edinburgh cell biologist Anura Rambukkana says that if we can identify howbacteria grow theLiver as a functional organ without causing adverse effects in living animals, we may be able to translate that knowledge to develop safer therapeutic interventions to rejuvenation and regeneration.

The number of cells that best suit the armadillo's body where they live has been learned by thebacteria.

M. leprae seems to be able to reprogram adult hepatocytes into a stem-cell-like state, allowing them to grow into other organs.

Leprosy can reprogram Schwann cells into a younger cell state that can produce a greater variety of cell types, according to members of the research team.

In the study of armadillos, there was no evidence of aging, fibrosis, or tumors.

They say that the pursuit of a "grown-to-order" functional organ is not theoretical.

Even with the ability to regrowth at least in part, the only internal organ that can do so is the liver, which accumulates damage over time and leads to millions of deaths each year.

One day, we might be able to harness this ability as well.

The team concluded in their paper that the model may advance our understanding of the native regenerative machinery.

The research was published in a journal.