Interstitium

Interstitium: this new organ discovered in our body could explain how cancer spreads.

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We thought we knew everything about the organs of the human body. In reality, American researchers have just discovered what could be our eightieth organ: interstitium. It has eluded the sagacity of doctors forever, and yet it is far from discreet. In fact, it is the largest organ in our body. This discovery represents a major interest: it would explain how cancer cells manage to spread in the body.
 
Aecientists have long been aware of the connective tissue that surrounds our organs. A layer of apparently thick and compact tissue that lies just under the skin and lines the lungs, digestive and urinary tracts and a large part of the circulatory system. Doctors thought this compact tissue was of little interest. This is what they thought under even their most powerful microscopes.
 
Wrong. American researchers have discovered something unexpected when performing confocal endomicroscopy, i.e. introducing a special microcamera that allows real-time cellular observation by aiming laser light at living tissue. When this connective tissue is observed in a living body, its appearance changes radically from that observed with a microscope. The tissue turns out to be " an open, fluid-filled space supported by a mesh of thick collagen bundles ». That's what Neil Theise, pathologist and author of the study says at Research Gate. This network of channels is present throughout the body and functions as a soft and elastic cushion, protecting the organs from external shocks when the body moves.
 
How is it that this complex tissue has eluded doctors' interest for so long? Until now it was considered a vulgar connective tissue. The explanation lies in the methods of observation. By analysing this tissue under a microscope, it is placed between glass slides. This preparation crushes the tissue and causes it to lose all its structure. It's like shriveling an entire building. All you would see is a tangle of walls and floors that produce no information about the original structure of the building. In addition, the preparation for microscope observation removes all the fluids circulating in this structure.
Although doctors could see tiny cracks in the tissue under the microscope, they believed that these cracks occurred when tissue was pulled too hard when loaded onto slides. « But they're not artifacts.« explains Professor Theise. " These are the remains of the collapsed spaces. They were here all the time. But it wasn't until we were able to observe the living tissue that we could see it. "
 
For the researchers behind this discovery, interstitium is not simply a "space between cells". It should be reclassified as an organ in its own right because of its unique properties and structure, which Theise says are "...a unique and important part of the cell wall.... very specific and depend on the unique cell types and structures of which it is made up "
 
For the research team that has just published its work in the journal Scientific ReportInterstitium not only acts as a shock absorber to protect body tissue from damage. This "organ" also allows fluids to circulate throughout the human body. This aspect of the discovery is significant. It would explain how cancer can spread through an organism.
Theise's team discovered that in patients with certain types of malignant cancers, the cells could leave the tissue from which they came and infiltrate these channels, eventually contaminating the lymphatic system. « Once they get in, it's like they're on a waterslide... ", the pathologist told the magazine New Scientist. " We have a new window into the mechanism of tumor propagation..."
 
This discovery could also enable scientists to develop new tests to detect cancer. "This discovery could lead to dramatic advances in medicine, such as the ability to sample interstitial fluid directly and make it a powerful diagnostic tool.explains Neil Theise, quoted by The Independent.
 
The last time researchers discovered a new organ, the seventy-ninth, was in January 2017. Irish scientists had uncovered the mesentery, located in the peritoneum, the membrane that protects the organs of the abdomen. This rather narrow and tight tube which ensures the connection between the wall of the abdomen and the ileum and jejunum of the small intestine had escaped the sight of everyone ... except Leonardo da Vinci who had established a description of this organ in 1508, a description remained unknown for centuries.
 

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