The team, led by researchers from the University of Leicester, report in the journal Nature Communications that blocking the normal protein production function of ribosomes did not affect the formation of new blood vessels, however blocking ribosome function by different means, such as preventing ribosomes moving freely throughout the cell, completely stopped new blood vessel formation from happening.
For many years scientists have thought that the function of ribosomes in blood vessel growth was solely based on its ability to produce new proteins, but this research completely changes this hypothesis and opens the door to new understanding of how new blood vessels are formed in our bodies.
Lead researcher, Professor Heribert Schorle from the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, explains that the new findings could have wider reaching implications for understanding diseases where blood vessel growth goes wrong.
"Ribosome function is often associated with cancer and other diseases such as muscular dystrophies, neurodegenerative diseases, and anaemia. Our new findings open avenues for the investigation of new disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies," he said.
The team behind the discovery made the finding after a chance observation of blood vessels in a new mouse model showing abnormal brain development. Further detailed analysis revealed that when the ribosomes were stopped from moving throughout the cell, new blood vessels would not form.
Study lead, Dr. Mark Sleight from the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, said:
"This discovery represents a significant change in our understanding of how new blood vessels are formed that will undoubtedly lead to new areas of research and potential treatments for vascular complications."
The research was funded by the Wellcome Trust, Muscular Dystrophy UK and the MRC/BBSRC UK Regenerative Medicine Platform "Hub" at the University of Leicester.
