Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) suppresses HIV replication and significantly slows the progression of disease, enabling HIV+ individuals to effectively manage infection for long periods. One of the manifestations of HIV infection is chronic inflammation in the gut and damage to the gastrointestinal barrier, which is thought to contribute to immune system activation. Elevated immune system activation is associated with increased risk of non-AIDS-associated disease and death in HIV+ individuals.
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Identification of a gene needed to expand light harvesting in photosynthesis into the far-red-light spectrum provides clues to the development of oxygen-producing photosynthesis, an evolutionary advance that changed the history of life on Earth. "Knowledge of how photosynthesis evolved could empower scientists to design better ways to use light energy for the benefit of mankind," said Donald A. Bryant, the Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University and the leader of the research team that made the discovery.
A team of CNIO researchers, in collaboration with the Spanish Oncology Genitourinary Group (SOGUG) and the University Hospitals Leuven (Belgium), has discovered various potential biomarkers predictive of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) response in metastatic renal cancer. In their study, published in JCI Insight, the researchers identify various miRNAs that define a group of patients refractory to TKI treatment -a type of anti-angiogenic agent widely used to treat renal cell carcinoma- and with poor prognosis.
Glioblastoma has an extremely poor prognosis, and there is a critical need for new therapies to treat the disease. Immunotherapy helps the immune system destroy cancer cells, and recent clinical evaluation of an immune cell-based vaccine has shown some benefits in early stage trials. Unfortunately, the response to this vaccine varies greatly amongst patients.
Influenza A viruses are responsible for seasonal disease outbreaks in humans. Influenza A also circulates among bird and some mammal populations and periodically crosses between species. The influenza A H3N2 variant (H3N2v) virus, which circulates in swine, has recently been reported in humans, especially children, and is distinct from other seasonal H3N2 strains found in humans. So far, H3N2v has only been reported in individuals that have had direct contact with pigs and causes a fairly severe disease.
PHILADELPHIA--(July 7, 2016)--As the powerhouse of the cells, mitochondria are critical for every organism because of their role in producing energy while also controlling survival, but how they function in cancer is still not completely known. This is particularly important because, in general, tumor cells proliferate more than normal tissues, and scientists have speculated that mechanisms that preserve mitochondrial function are responsible for supporting tumor expansion.
SANTA BARBARA, CA -- A new study has found that the little-known member of the human herpesvirus family called HHV-6A infects the lining of the uterus in 43% of women with unexplained infertility but cannot be found in uterine lining of fertile women. The study was conducted by investigators at the University of Ferrara, Italy.
Malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum remains a major public health problem worldwide. As a continuation of previous research targeting Hsp90, a universal molecular chaperone performing vital functions both in the parasite and in human cells, researchers from the universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Basel, Switzerland, have developed a strategy to identify molecules capable of inhibiting the parasite's protein and causing the destruction of the pathogen, without affecting mammalian cells. The study is published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
A molecule which, for the last 20 years has been believed to be an indicator of good prognosis in tumours has been shown to have a dark side by new research from The Universities of Manchester, Athens and collaborators, recently published in Nature Cell Biology.
The molecule p21WAF1/Cip1 (or p21 for short) is often found in association with a so-called 'master tumour-suppressor' p53. This has traditionally given doctors an indication that there is a good prognosis for cancer - the presence of p21 indicating that the p53 tumour suppressor will lead to a less aggressive tumour.
The penis of the thistle tortoise beetle is as long as the beetle itself. Something that initially sounds exciting, can be complicated during mating. This is because the females also have a hyper-elongated sexual organ, which is additionally twisted in the shape of a spiral. How beetle reproduction can nevertheless be successful has now been investigated by Dr. Yoko Matsumura, Dr. Alexander Kovalev and Professor Stanislav Gorb from the Zoological Institute of Kiel University.
Newcastle researchers have developed a genetic test providing a rapid diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders to identify the first patients with inherited mutations in a new disease gene.
The team of medics and scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, together with international collaborators, have identified mutations in a gene, known as TMEM126B, involved in energy production in patient's muscles.
Superconductivity (SC) and ferromagnetism (FM) are mutually antagonistic collective phenomena in solids. Macroscopically, a superconductor expels magnetic fluxes from its interior (so-called Meissner state) below the superconducting critical temperature TSC. By contrast, a ferromagnet magnetizes itself (for a single magnetic domain) spontaneously below the ferromagnetic transition temperature TFM.
Researchers identify bacterial infection as a possible cause of bladder condition
A team led by researchers at the University of Kent has identified bacterial infection as a possible cause of Overactive Bladder Syndrome (OAB).
OAB is a condition where the bladder muscle spontaneously contracts before the bladder is full. In the USA, it is ranked in the top 10 of common chronic conditions, competing with both diabetes and depression, with a reported prevalence of up to 31-42% in the adult population.
Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden have published new findings on the adaptation of the bacterial cell wall in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study reveals novel bacterial defence mechanisms against the immune system and how they can become resistant to antibiotics.
ecancer's latest Special Issue provides an update on rapidly evolving developments in palliative cancer care in Africa.
This is the second special issue from ecancer focusing on this complex topic.
In 2014, our authors brought you compelling evidence of the clash between traditional cultural beliefs in African nations and the need for modern palliative cancer care.
This update takes a different approach to the challenges of cancer care on this diverse continent - raising it to the level of policy.