Unknown unknown organization inside our cells

The discovery of an unknown organelo inside our cells can pave the way to new treatments for devastating hereditary diseases.

A team of researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA) and the US National Health Institutes discovered a new organelo, named after “Hemifusoma“Within our cells.

The discovery was presented in a published last week in the magazine Nature Communications.

According to the authors of the study, this small organelo has an important function, helping our cells to Classify, recycle and discard important material within themselves.

Discovery can help scientists better understand what goes wrong in genetic conditions that disturb these functions maintenance essential.

“That is How to discover a new recycling center inside the cell, ”explains Seham ebrahimresearcher at the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics of UVA and corresponding Author of the study.

“We think the hemifusoma Helps manage how cells pack And they process material, and when this is wrong, it can contribute to diseases that affect many systems in the body, ”details the researcher, quoted by.

One of these conditions is the Hermansky-Pudlak syndromea rare genetic disease that can cause albinism, vision problems, pulmonary disease and problems with blood coagulation. Problems with the way cells deal with material are at the root of many of these disturbances.

“We are just starting to understand how this new organelo fits into the general framework of cellular health and disease,” said Ebrahim. “It’s exciting because find something truly new Inside the cells is rare-and give us a completely new way to explore. ”

Although hemifusomas have escaped detection so far, scientists say that They are surprisingly common in certain parts of our cells.

Scientists believe that hemifusomes facilitate the formation of vesicles, small bubble -like bags that act as mixing cups, and organelos composed by gallbladders.

This process is critical for cell classification, recycling and elimination of debris, researchers report.

“You can think of vesicles as small delivery trucks inside the cell,” said Ebrahim, from the center of membrane physiology and grape cells. “The hemifusome It’s like a loading dock where they connect and transfer material. It’s a step in the process that we didn’t know it existed. ”