CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 16, 2011) – Whitehead Institute researchers have found that depriving human melanoma cells of the essential amino acid leucine can be lethal to the cells, suggesting a possible strategy for therapeutic intervention.
The researchers observed the effect in melanoma cells with a mutation in the RAS/MEK signaling pathway—the most common mutation found in the deadliest form of skin cancer.
A team of researchers — led by Sang-Hun Lee, at Hanyang University, Republic of Korea, and Kwang-Soo Kim, at Harvard Medical School, Belmont, — has now compared the ability of cells derived from different types of human stem cell to reverse disease in a rat model of Parkinson disease and identified a stem cell population that they believe could be clinically relevant.
The HIV epidemic is continuing spread and efforts to develop a vaccine that protects against infection are still showing limited promise. Therefore, researchers are seeking to develop alternative approaches to block HIV transmission. One such strategy is vaginal application of an agent known as a microbicide, which works to kill the virus at the site of entry into the body. A team of researchers, led by Judy Lieberman, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, has now developed a new agent that they hope could be used as the active ingredient in a microbicide to prevent HIV transmission.
BOSTON – May 16, 2011 – The road to type 2 diabetes is paved with insulin resistance, a condition often associated with obesity in which the hormone begins to fail at its job helping to convert sugars to energy. Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have now identified an enzyme called PKC-delta as an important molecular modifier for development of insulin resistance, diabetes and fatty liver in mice. They also have found evidence suggesting a similar role for the enzyme in humans, making PKC-delta a promising new target for drugs for diabetes and related ailments.
By analyzing complex interactions of the immune system in an animal study, pediatric researchers have found potential tools for controlling a life-threatening condition called a cytokine storm that may strike children who have juvenile arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
What does it take to regenerate a limb? Biologists have long thought that organ regeneration in animals like zebrafish and salamanders involved stem cells that can generate any tissue in the body. But new research suggests that multiple cell types are needed to regrow the complete organ, at least in zebrafish.
COLLEGE STATION — Research on controlling the stem cells of plants could eventually lead to learning how to make them produce more fruit, seed and leaves, according to Dr. Xiuren Zhang, Texas AgriLife Research scientist and professor with the Texas A&M University department of biochemistry and biophysics.Results of a nearly three-year project led by an AgriLife Research team headed by Zhang was published in Cell, one of the most cited scientific peer-review journals in the world.
For years Professor Leo von Hemmen, a biophysicist at the TU Muenchen, and Professor Bruce Young, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, have been researching the sense of hearing in snakes. While discussing the toxicity of their snakes, it dawned on them that only few snakes inject their venom into their victims' bodies using hollow poison fangs. Yet, even though the vast majority of poisonous reptiles lack hollow fangs, they are effective predators.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adding low doses of the targeted agent sorafenib to the chemotherapy and radiation now often used to treat head and neck cancer might significantly improve patient care and quality of life, according to a new study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).
Chapel Hill, NC – An unusual collaboration between cell and developmental biologists and physicists at UNC-Chapel Hill is providing insights into the relationship between the physical properties of cells and the signals that influence cell behavior.
A variation in a gene involved in regulating cholesterol in the bloodstream also appears to affect progesterone production in women, making it a likely culprit in a substantial number of cases of their infertility, a new study from Johns Hopkins researchers suggests.
The Hopkins group has also developed a simple blood test for this variation of the scavenger receptor class B type 1 gene (SCARB1) but emphasized there is no approved therapy yet to address the problem in infertile women.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib, known by the brand name Celebrex, triggers liver cancer cell death by reacting with a protein in a way that makes those cells commit suicide, according to a new study.
Researchers also found that the combination of celecoxib with each of two chemotherapy drugs killed more liver cancer cells in culture, making those combinations more effective than either drug on its own.
ATS 2011, DENVER – Although so-called clot-busting drugs are commonly used in the treatment of some patients with blood clots in the lungs, a new study conducted by researchers in Spain and the U.S. indicates the agents do not appear to be any more effective than traditional blood thinners for the majority of these patients. Clot-busters, or thrombolytic agents, also appear to increase the risk of death in patients with normal blood pressure.
The study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.
ATS 2011, DENVER – Children with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have poor lung function early in life are more likely also to have poor lung function in adolescence, regardless of whether they are exposed to a common infection caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa in early childhood. Earlier studies had indicated infection with the bacteria early in life was strongly associated with poor lung function later on.
The study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.
ATS 2011, DENVER – Removing enlarged tonsils and adenoids may help prevent high blood pressure and heart damage in children who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study conducted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In some children with OSA, adenotonsillectomy can result in significantly lower blood pressure within 24 months of the procedure.
The results will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.