Researchers at Trent University recently discovered that mammals produce several types of hormones that are usually found in plants, and will now go on to study these Cytokinins (CKs) as potential treatments for viral infections, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
CKs are hormones commonly studied in plants and play a significant role in all stages of growth. In mammals, only a single CK had previously been found until this new research discovered six more.
“It was revealed that mammals produce these CKs in a way similar to plants, bacteria and fungi, although researchers have yet to discover their role,” says Mark Seegobin, a Trent Ph.D. student in the Environmental and Life Sciences program who has been researching this topic with Adam Noble, CEO and founder of Noblegen, and under the supervision of Trent’s Dr. Neil Emery and Dr. Craig Brunetti.
In their paper, recently published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal, the researchers suggest that CKs act as signaling molecules, help to regulate other hormones, and are potentially involved in immune responses.
Continue reading at Trent University.
Image via Trent University.