Cell Metabolism News and Research

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Inhibition of mitochondrial calcium uptake specifically toxic to cancer cells

Inhibiting the transfer of calcium ions into the cell's powerhouse is specifically toxic to cancer cells, according to an article published this week in Cell Reports by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 Mar 2016

Rockefeller research reveals vital new component of system responsible for regulating food intake

The molecular intricacies of hunger and satiety, pivotal for understanding metabolic disorders and the problem of obesity, are not yet fully understood by scientists. However, new research from The Rockefeller University reveals an important new component of the system responsible for regulating food intake: a hormone called amylin, which acts in the brain to help control consumption.

27 Feb 2016

Losing just 5% of weight has significant health benefits for patients with obesity

For patients with obesity trying to lose weight, the greatest health benefits come from losing just 5 percent of their body weight, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

23 Feb 2016

Intestinal microbiota necessary for optimum postnatal growth

The intestinal microbiota is necessary to ensure optimum postnatal growth and contributes to determining the size of adult individuals, notably in the event of undernutrition.

22 Feb 2016

Kellogg investigators develop new nanotechnology that has potential to kill tumor cells in the eye

Researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center have developed a new nanoparticle that uses a tumor cell's protective mechanism against itself -- short-circuiting tumor cell metabolism and killing tumor cells.

19 Feb 2016

KU Leuven scientists improve survival of implanted bone cells

To treat a complicated, non-healing bone defect, surgeons often use an implant with living cells to promote bone repair, but the implanted cells have a small chance of surviving because they are not prepared for a lack of oxygen and nutrients at the fracture site.

19 Feb 2016

Pioglitazone drug may prevent recurrent stroke and heart attacks

Pioglitazone, a drug used for type 2 diabetes, may prevent recurrent stroke and heart attacks in people with insulin resistance but without diabetes.

18 Feb 2016

Study identifies FGF21 protein as potential therapeutic agent for cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes

New research on the blood lipid-lowering protein FGF21 shows how it redistributes fatty acids by two distinct mechanisms. The discovery could lead to improved pharmaceutical treatment for type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases.

11 Feb 2016

Barley can help reduce blood sugar levels and diabetes risk

A recent study from Lund University in Sweden shows that barley can rapidly improve people's health by reducing blood sugar levels and risk for diabetes. The secret lies in the special mixture of dietary fibres found in barley, which can also help reduce people's appetite and risk for cardiovascular disease.

10 Feb 2016

UT Southwestern researchers reveal how CDK4/6-inhibitors alter pancreatic cancer cell metabolism

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that cancer drugs known as CDK4/6-inhibitors alter the metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells, revealing a biologic vulnerability that could be exploited for therapeutic gain.

22 Jan 2016

Estrogen helps women fight flu virus better than men

Estrogen dramatically reduced the amount of flu virus that replicated in infected cells from women but not from men, a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows.

20 Jan 2016

New discovery may help researchers tackle mitochondrial diseases and age-related diseases

Buck Institute faculty Judith Campisi, PhD, says age researchers need to stop thinking of cellular senescence, now accepted as an important driver of aging, as a single phenotype that stems from genotoxic stress. Research from her lab reveals that cellular senescence, a process whereby cells permanently lose the ability to divide, is also induced by signaling from dysfunctional mitochondria - and that the arrested cells secrete a distinctly different "stew" of biologically active factors in a process unrelated to the damaging free radicals that are created in mitochondria as part of oxygen metabolism.

13 Jan 2016

Oxygen sensor PHD1 identified as potential target for treatment of ischemic stroke

Scientists at VIB and KU Leuven have identified the oxygen sensor PHD1 as a potential target for the treatment of brain infarction (ischemic stroke). Despite (minor) improvements in stroke treatment, stroke remains the fourth leading cause of death and the most common reason of severe disability.

8 Jan 2016

Eliminating the 'bad seeds' of liver cancer

Researchers have found the 'bad seeds' of liver cancer and believe they could one day reprogram them to remain responsive to cancer treatment, a new study has found.

7 Jan 2016

Researchers identify liver-derived hormone that regulates sugar intake

We all love our sugar, especially during the holidays. Cookies, cake, and candy are simply irresistible. While sugar cravings are common, the physiological mechanisms that trigger our "sweet tooth" are not well defined.

24 Dec 2015

New mathematical models shed light on complex interactions of stem cell function in neural tissue

New research has shed light on the complex interactions of stem cell function and molecular diffusion in neural tissue, which may explain many phenomena from stem cell differentiation to the formation of the cortex of the brain. While researching new methods of reconstructing 3D neural tissue and neural pathways in the brain and spinal cord, Dr. Richard McMurtrey devised new mathematical approaches for understanding the concentration of nutrients within the 3D tissue constructs and how this could affect tissue growth.

22 Dec 2015

Liver protein aids in accelerating growth of insulin-producing pancreatic 'beta' cells

More than a quarter of the 30 million people with diabetes in the United States depend on daily injections of insulin to maintain their blood glucose levels in a healthy range. Scientists are investigating many techniques to help treat or potentially even cure many of these patients by increasing the body's own insulin-producing pancreatic "beta" cells.

15 Dec 2015

Experimental drugs that modify cell metabolism also halt tumor growth

Experimental drugs that alter cell metabolism also halted tumor growth and extended survival in mice with cancers linked to changes in the same gene, according to a new study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center, its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital.

15 Dec 2015

Our appetite is dictated by gut bacteria

Bacteria in our stomachs might be deciding when we’ve eaten enough and switch off appetite, according to new research.

2 Dec 2015

Seven new nCounter PanCancer profiles launched to deeply probe cancer biology

NanoString Technologies, Inc.a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced the expansion of its 3D Biology™ portfolio with the commercial launch of the nCounter® PanCancer Profiles, seven new gene expression panels each designed to interrogate a focused area of cancer biology including immuno-oncology.

9 Nov 2015