研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),骨樣顆粒在人體血液中流動(dòng)

With age, our bodies get to enjoy some weird and wonderful things. Our brains go a little foggy, we make more noises when we stand up, and new research has found we might even end up with tiny bone-like particles running around the bloodstream.

隨著年齡的增長，我們的身體開始享受一些奇怪而美妙的東西。我們的大腦會(huì)變得有點(diǎn)模糊，站起來時(shí)身體會(huì)發(fā)出更多的聲音，新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們甚至可能最終會(huì)在血液中發(fā)現(xiàn)細(xì)小的骨狀顆粒。

That kind of stuff coursing through your blood vessels doesn't sound good - obviously - but this finding might take us closer to understanding some of the issues that may strike our cardiovascular system with age.

這種穿過血管的東西聽上去不太好——很明顯——但這項(xiàng)發(fā)現(xiàn)可能會(huì)讓我們更進(jìn)一步了解一些，可能隨著年齡增長而影響心血管系統(tǒng)的問題。
We've long known that sometimes tissue within the human body can start to resemble bone. This is due to a process called calcification – the accumulation of calcium salts in said tissue. Such accumulation can present as gallstones or kidney stones, become bone spurs, or even end up in other parts of the body.

我們早就知道，人體內(nèi)的組織有時(shí)會(huì)開始類似骨骼。這是由于一個(gè)叫做鈣化的過程——鈣鹽在組織中的積聚。這種堆積可以表現(xiàn)為膽結(jié)石或腎結(jié)石，成為骨刺，甚至最終出現(xiàn)在身體的其他部位。

Sometimes, this mineral build-up can happen in blood vessels, leading to the unsurprisingly named vascular calcification. This process is associated with ageing, but can also be linked to diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease.

有時(shí)，這種礦物質(zhì)的積聚會(huì)發(fā)生在血管中，導(dǎo)致血管鈣化，這一點(diǎn)不足為奇。這一過程與衰老有關(guān)，但也可能與糖尿病、高血壓或腎病有關(guān)。

Despite knowing that vascular calcification happens, researchers still don't have a complete picture of the processes inside our blood that lead to minerals accumulating in the walls of our blood vessels.

盡管知道血管鈣化會(huì)發(fā)生，但是研究人員仍然沒有一個(gè)完整的圖像，來描述我們血液中導(dǎo)致礦物質(zhì)在血管壁中積聚的過程。

In this latest study, researchers led by University of Texas kinesiology professor Rhonda Prisby now report the presence of strange bone-like particles - and they could have something to do with vascular disease.

在這項(xiàng)最新的研究中，由德克薩斯大學(xué)運(yùn)動(dòng)學(xué)教授朗達(dá)·普里斯比領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的研究人員，報(bào)告了奇怪的骨樣顆粒的存在——它們可能與血管疾病有關(guān)。

"The major finding of this investigation is the discovery of bone-like particles in the peripheral circulation of humans and rats," the team writes in their paper.

研究小組在論文中寫道：“這項(xiàng)研究的主要發(fā)現(xiàn)，是在人和老鼠的外周循環(huán)中發(fā)現(xiàn)了骨樣顆粒。”

In a previous study authored by Prisby, she characterised severe calcification in the blood vessels that are found in bone marrow, indicating that both in rat samples and human patients these vessels looked as if they'd turned to bone, or ossified.

在普里斯比之前的一項(xiàng)研究中，她描述了在骨髓中發(fā)現(xiàn)的血管嚴(yán)重鈣化的特征，這表明無論是在大鼠樣本中還是在人類患者中，這些血管看起來像是變成了骨頭，或是骨化了。

The investigation also indicated the presence of bone-like particles in those ossified blood vessels. So in this study, the researchers explored further to see if these particles might move from bone marrow into peripheral circulation.

研究還表明，這些血管骨化中存在骨樣顆粒。因此，在這項(xiàng)研究中，研究人員進(jìn)一步研究了這些顆粒，是否可能從骨髓轉(zhuǎn)移到外周循環(huán)。

"Presumably, ossified particles originate during the processes of bone marrow blood vessel ossification and are capable of entering into the peripheral circulation," the team writes.

研究小組寫道：“據(jù)推測，骨化顆粒起源于骨髓血管骨化過程，能夠進(jìn)入外周循環(huán)。”

"Thus, in addition to examining ossified bone marrow blood vessels via ultra-high microscopy, we sought to confirm, characterise and quantify the presence of ossified particles in peripheral whole blood samples from humans and rats."

因此，除了通過超高顯微鏡檢查骨化骨髓血管外，我們還試圖確認(rèn)、表征和量化人和大鼠的外周全血樣本中，是否存在骨化顆粒。
Although the researchers used only a small number of human samples - including bone marrow vessels in a tibia coming from an amputated leg, and blood samples from 12 volunteers - the results are rather interesting, and a little concerning.

盡管研究人員只使用了少量的人體樣本，包括截肢腿脛骨的骨髓血管和12名志愿者的血液樣本，但結(jié)果相當(dāng)有趣，也有點(diǎn)令人擔(dān)憂。

"While the majority of the ossified particles were small in diameter (<15 μm), a significant number were of sufficient size (>15 μm) to block small blood vessels throughout the vascular tree," the researchers explain in their study.

研究人員在他們的研究中解釋說：“雖然大多數(shù)骨化顆粒的直徑很小(<15μm)，但有相當(dāng)數(shù)量的顆粒足夠大(>15μm)，會(huì)阻塞整個(gè)血管樹的小血管。”

Although the number of ossified particles didn't appear to increase with the age of the patient, the size of them did. The six younger patients had particles ranging in size from 1-29 μm, while the six older patients' particles ranged from 1-66 μm.

盡管骨化顆粒的數(shù)量并沒有隨著患者的年齡而增加，但它們的大小卻增加了。6名年輕患者的顆粒大小為1-29μm，6名老年患者的顆粒大小為1-66μm。

The team also investigated the size of these particles in rats, but found that there were no significant changes by age, although there was a limitation in being able to discern bone-like particles from the tiny blood cells called platelets.

研究小組還研究了這些顆粒在大鼠體內(nèi)的大小，但發(fā)現(xiàn)，隨著年齡的增長沒有明顯的變化，盡管，從被稱為血小板的微小血細(xì)胞中辨別骨樣顆粒存在局限性。

"Future investigations will require the elimination of platelets from the whole blood sample in order to decipher any age-related increases in the number of [bone-like particles]," the team notes, adding the importance of larger sample sizes to further investigate this phenomenon.

“未來的研究將需要從全血樣本中清除血小板，以破譯任何與年齡相關(guān)的[骨樣顆粒]數(shù)量的增加。”研究小組指出，補(bǔ)充更大樣本尺寸，對進(jìn)一步研究這一現(xiàn)象的重要性。

The most important aspect of these particles might well be their shape - a potential clue to how their circulation in the blood could contribute to the development of cardiovascular problems.

這些微粒最重要的，很可能是它們的形狀——它們在血液中的循環(huán)，可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致心血管疾病的發(fā)展，這是一個(gè)潛在的線索。

"Some of the ossified particles have sharp tips and edges that could damage the lining of blood vessels," says Prisby.

普里斯比說：“有些骨化的顆粒尖端和邊緣很鋒利，可能會(huì)損壞血管內(nèi)壁。”

"This damage could initiate events leading to atherosclerosis (build-up of plaque), which can restrict blood flow over time."

這種損傷會(huì)引發(fā)動(dòng)脈粥樣硬化(斑塊的形成)，而隨著時(shí)間的推移，動(dòng)脈粥樣硬化會(huì)而限制血流。

The research has been published in Microcirculation.

這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在《微循環(huán)》雜志上。