How the heart turns into bone
Saturday, November 19, 2016 - 17:21
in Health & Medicine
Connective tissue cells in the heart turn into bone-producing cells in response to injury, researchers have found. The discovery helps explain why some people who survive heart damage develop abnormal calcium deposits--the main component of bone--in the valves or walls of the heart. The researchers also show that heart calcification can be prevented in mice by blocking an enzyme that regulates bone mineralization with small molecules.