Algae injected into the tadpoles made their vessels green and became a source of fresh oxygen.
A team of neuroscientists at the Ludwig and Maximilian University of Munich, Hans Straka, is looking for urgent support methods for cells that have lost the flow of sufficient oxygen, such as neurons as a result of a stroke. Scientists have found a new unusual approach almost by accident: “At first, it even sounds ridiculous,” said one of the authors of the work. "But if it works, then why not?"
At the annual meeting of the Society of Neurosciences in Chicago, scientists reported on experiments with the injection of algal cells into the vessels of the common clawed frog tadpoles. Algae were used both eukaryotic - Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, - and prokaryotic, - cyanobacteria Synechocystis. With a sufficient amount of light passing through the translucent body of the tadpoles, they began to actively photosynthesize and release oxygen, at the same time giving the animal's vessels an unusual green color.
By lowering the oxygen content in the environment, the scientists tracked the moment at which, due to a lack of oxygen, the tadpole's optic nerves stopped transmitting signals. At this moment, turning on the light, the authors started photosynthesis - and the neurons, receiving oxygen from the algae, returned to work. According to Hans Stracky, someday in the future, "algae injection" may find application not only in helping patients, but also to support astronauts during long missions in outer space.
However, even if this future comes, it will not happen very soon. It is not yet known how long algae will be able to survive in the vascular system, how the body will respond to them - and how they will be able to receive the light needed for photosynthesis and oxygen production.