Leprosy bacteria able to regenerate organs, researchers say
So the researchers turned to the only other animals to catch the disease - armadillos.The experiments, which were performed in the US, showed the infection heads to the armoured animals' livers, where it performed a controlled hijacking of the organ to reprogram it for its own purpose.
"It is kind of mind-blowing," Prof Rambukkana said. "How do they do that? There is no cell therapy that can do that."Fully grown liver cells are metabolic powerhouses withBut the bacteria are taking them back a stage - like becoming a teenager again - where they can rapidly increase in number before maturing back into adulthood.
"The dream is to use the same bacterial strategy, to use the ingenuity of bacteria to generate new medicines for regeneration and repair," Prof Rambukkana said.
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