Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Study: Inactivating polymorphism may influence progression of ovarian and luminal breast cancer

A common polymorphism - a variation in a person's DNA sequence that is found with regularity in the general population - can lead to a chain of events that dictates how a tumor will progress in certain types of cancer, including a form of breast cancer as well as ovarian cancer, according to new research from The Wistar Institute that was published online by the journal Cancer Cell.

19 Dec 2014

High speed, high resolution glycan mapping now achievable for mAb characterization

The full characterization of biotherapeutics is required by regulatory authorities as properties such as safety, efficacy and the serum half-life of therapeutic proteins can be affected by differences in their glycosylation pattern. Recombinant monoclonal antibody therapeutics (mAbs) represent the largest group of therapeutic proteins the analysis of the glycan pattern is therefore an essential part of the mAb characterization process.

19 Dec 2014

Endogenous retroviruses also play critical role in the body's immune defense against pathogens

Retroviruses are best known for causing contagious scourges such as AIDS, or more sporadically, cancer.

19 Dec 2014

Scientists develop new system for studying how proteins, other biological molecules unfold and refold

Collaborating scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California San Diego have developed a powerful new system for studying how proteins and other biological molecules form and lose their natural folded structures.

19 Dec 2014

Multifaceted intervention helps bipolar disorder patients lose weight

An Integrated Risk Reduction Intervention can help overweight and obese patients with bipolar disorder to reduce their body mass index, US researchers report.

18 Dec 2014

TUM researchers discover new mechanism for regulating programmed cell death

Programmed cell death is a mechanism that causes defective and potentially harmful cells to destroy themselves. It serves a number of purposes in the body, including the prevention of malignant tumor growth. Now, researchers at Technische Universität München have discovered a previously unknown mechanism for regulating programmed cell death.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers treat myocardial infarction with new telomerase-based gene therapy

The enzyme telomerase repairs cell damage produced by ageing, and has been used successfully in therapies to lengthen the life of mice. Now it has been observed that it could also be used to cure illnesses related to the ageing process.

18 Dec 2014

Trophoblasts respond to inflammatory danger signals, find NTNU researchers

Trophoblasts, cells that form an outer layer around a fertilized egg and develop into the major part of the placenta, have now been shown to respond to inflammatory danger signals, researchers from Norwegian University of Science and Technology found in a recent study published in Journal of Reproductive Immunology December 2014.

18 Dec 2014

Broccoli can help reduce HGPS-related defects

Children who suffer from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome age prematurely due to a defective protein in their cells. Scientists at Technische Universität München have now identified another important pathological factor: the system responsible for removing cellular debris and for breaking down defective proteins operates at lower levels in HGPS cells than in normal cells. The researchers have succeeded in reactivating protein breakdown in HGPS cells and thus reducing disease-related defects by using a substance from broccoli.

18 Dec 2014

Two orphan receptor proteins exert fatal double whammy effect against glioblastoma cells

Two related proteins exert a lethal double whammy effect against glioblastoma cells when activated with a small molecule, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

18 Dec 2014

Eight researchers to receive 2015 Leibniz Prize

The new recipients of Germany's most prestigious research funding prize have been announced. In Bonn today, the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) decided to award the 2015 Leibniz Prize to eight researchers.

18 Dec 2014

Research findings may lead to new treatment strategies for Ewing sarcoma

The genetic abnormality that drives the bone cancer Ewing sarcoma operates through two distinct processes - both activating genes that stimulate tumor growth and suppressing those that should keep cancer from developing. These findings by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators, published in the November issue of Cancer Cell, may lead to new therapies targeting these aberrant mechanisms.

18 Dec 2014

Loyola neurologist finds little scientific evidence that brain games improve cognitive function

Computerized brain games that are advertised as a way to help boost intelligence and prevent dementia will be popular Christmas gifts this year.

18 Dec 2014

Tel Aviv University study throws spotlight on gene mutation responsible for premature ovarian failure

Premature ovarian failure, also known as primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), affects 1% of all women worldwide. In most cases, the exact cause of the condition, which is often associated with infertility, is difficult to determine.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers identify a single protein as root cause of multiple allergic reactions

Johns Hopkins and University of Alberta researchers have identified a single protein as the root of painful and dangerous allergic reactions to a range of medications and other substances. If a new drug can be found that targets the problematic protein, they say, it could help smooth treatment for patients with conditions ranging from prostate cancer to diabetes to HIV

17 Dec 2014

Scientists produce novel class of molecules that could help combat cancer, other diseases

Promising treatments known as biologics are on the market and under development for many serious illnesses such as cancer, but some of them come with high risks, even lethal ones. Now scientists have produced a novel class of molecules that could be as effective but without the dangerous side effects.

17 Dec 2014

Researchers find new 'sliding scale' model to rule out blood clots in lungs

Researchers from Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City have identified a new "sliding scale" model used to rule out potentially deadly blood clots in the lungs, known as pulmonary embolisms, that is more accurate than current diagnostic methods.

17 Dec 2014

Researchers identify 53 existing drugs that may block Ebola virus from entering human cells

Researchers found 53 existing drugs that may keep the Ebola virus from entering human cells, a key step in the process of infection, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the National Institutes of Health, and published today in the Nature Press journal Emerging Microbes and Infections.

17 Dec 2014

Researchers gain new insight into how motor neurons in the brain die during ALS

Researchers look to understand the causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in the hope of finding new ways to treat the disease. A new study published online today (December 17th) in the Cell Press journal Neuron shows that a common gene mutation in ALS generates a deadly protein that may cause the damage in the brain that leads to ALS.

17 Dec 2014

RCC renal function independent of axitinib-induced proteinuria

Treatment with the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor axitinib does not adversely affect renal function in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma even in the presence of proteinuria, a Japanese study indicates.

17 Dec 2014

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Study: Inactivating polymorphism may influence progression of ovarian and luminal breast cancer

High speed, high resolution glycan mapping now achievable for mAb characterization

Endogenous retroviruses also play critical role in the body's immune defense against pathogens

Scientists develop new system for studying how proteins, other biological molecules unfold and refold

Multifaceted intervention helps bipolar disorder patients lose weight

TUM researchers discover new mechanism for regulating programmed cell death

Researchers treat myocardial infarction with new telomerase-based gene therapy

Trophoblasts respond to inflammatory danger signals, find NTNU researchers

Broccoli can help reduce HGPS-related defects

Two orphan receptor proteins exert fatal double whammy effect against glioblastoma cells

Eight researchers to receive 2015 Leibniz Prize

Research findings may lead to new treatment strategies for Ewing sarcoma

Loyola neurologist finds little scientific evidence that brain games improve cognitive function

Tel Aviv University study throws spotlight on gene mutation responsible for premature ovarian failure

Researchers identify a single protein as root cause of multiple allergic reactions

Scientists produce novel class of molecules that could help combat cancer, other diseases

Researchers find new 'sliding scale' model to rule out blood clots in lungs

Researchers identify 53 existing drugs that may block Ebola virus from entering human cells

Researchers gain new insight into how motor neurons in the brain die during ALS

RCC renal function independent of axitinib-induced proteinuria

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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