Cell Membrane News and Research

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MreB protein molecules assemble into larger units in bacterial cell wall

Almost all bacteria owe their structure to an outer cell wall that interacts closely with the supporting MreB protein inside the cell. As scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry and at the French INRA now show, MreB molecules assemble into larger units, but not - as previously believed - into continuous helical structures.

4 Jun 2011

Cancer vaccine shows improved response rate in patients

A vaccine for one of the most lethal cancers, advanced melanoma, has improved response rate and progression-free survival for patients when combined with the immunotherapy drug Interleukin-2, according to research led by scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Indiana University Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care.

3 Jun 2011

Scientists identify protein sorting mechanism used by salivary gland

University of Louisville researchers are one step closer to helping millions of people whose salivary glands no longer work because of disease or damage from treatment of diseases.

3 Jun 2011

Blood stored in banks may undergo changes and damage

New research provides evidence for significant differences between new and old red blood cells used for transfusions and could provide a cheap, rapid and effective way to monitor the quality of blood supplies.

21 May 2011

Bitter cumin contains high levels of antioxidants and protects against DNA damage

Bitter cumin is used extensively in traditional medicine to treat a range of diseases from vitiligo to hyperglycemia. It is considered to be antiparasitic and antimicrobial and science has backed up claims of its use to reduce fever or as a painkiller. New research published in BioMedCentral's open access journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows that this humble spice also contains high levels of antioxidants.

20 May 2011

Super-resolution microscopy technique reveals how and why cell's defenses fail against plague

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a super-resolution microscopy technique that is answering long-held questions about exactly how and why a cell's defenses fail against some invaders, such as plague, while successfully fending off others like E.coli.

17 May 2011

Current Opinion in Immunology journal publishes Inovio's article on DNA vaccines

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that the prestigious journal Current Opinion in Immunology has published an article in its current issue entitled, "Electroporation Delivery of DNA Vaccines: Prospects for Success."

7 May 2011

New MIT drug-delivery nanoparticle could target any type of tumor

MIT chemical engineers have designed a new type of drug-delivery nanoparticle that exploits a trait shared by almost all tumors: They are more acidic than healthy tissues.

4 May 2011

Research sheds light on molecular movements of neural transporters

A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters.

25 Apr 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism behind Salmonella invasion into gut cells

Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany have discovered a new, hitherto unknown mechanism of Salmonella invasion into gut cells: In this entry mode, the bacteria exploit the muscle power of cells to be pulled into the host cell cytoplasm.

22 Apr 2011

NRC, NCKU partner to develop cancer diagnostic and treatment technologies

A Taiwanese research team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in Medical College at National Cheng Kung University has partnered with a research group led by Dr. Dennis Whitefield from National Research Council of Canada to develop innovative cancer diagnostic and treatment technologies.

15 Apr 2011

CFFT, Vertex collaborate to develop new medicines for cystic fibrosis

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. today announced they will collaborate on the continued discovery and development of new medicines known as correctors that aim to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis in people with the most common form of the disease.

8 Apr 2011

Lack or loss of SIRT3 protein induces proliferation of breast cancer cells

Research published in the Cancer Cell journal in March was a significant step in knowing the causes of cancer better, especially breast cancer, revealing that the lack or loss of a protein in the cells known as SIRT3, induces the proliferation of this disease and thereby, this protein can be an may be a therapeutic target in the development of effective therapies for cancer. The research was led by Dra. Marcia Haigis of the Harvard Medical School, with the participation of Dr. Arkaitz Carracedo, from the Proteomics Laboratory at CIC bioGUNE.

6 Apr 2011

Potential HIV vaccine component undergoes dramatic protein rearrangement

An international study headed by a UC Davis scientist describes how a component of a potential HIV vaccine opens like a flower, undergoing one of the most dramatic protein rearrangements yet observed in nature. The finding could reveal new targets for vaccines to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. A paper describing the work was published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

1 Apr 2011

New signaling pathway discovery sheds light on chronic dermatitis

A new signaling pathway, which is important for the regulation of the immune response and inflammation, was discovered by an international team of scientists led by prof Ivan Dikic from the Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.

1 Apr 2011

Micro-RNAs appear to play a key role in new mechanism underlying obesity

Max Planck researchers have discovered a new mechanism that leads to the development of type 2 diabetes in obesity. Body weight influences the risk of developing diabetes: between 80 and 90 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.

31 Mar 2011

Mucus may play a key role in penetration of hydrophobic substances into cells

Are our bodies vulnerable to some pollutants whose lack of solubility in water, or "hydrophobicity," has always been thought to protect us from them? New Tel Aviv University research has discovered that this is indeed the case.

31 Mar 2011

Cell receptor recycling mechanism discovery opens up new class of therapeutic targets

Prof. Manojkumar Puthenveedu of Carnegie Mellon University studies the mechanisms by which membrane trafficking controls and co-ordinates the complex signalling pathways in the brain. Despite the fact that almost all diseases can be traced to a defect in how cells respond to signals, little is known about how signalling pathways are maintained in normal cells and the changes that occur in abnormal conditions.

23 Mar 2011

Biologists decipher molecular code regulating availability of brain channel linked to neuronal excitability

A key question in protein biochemistry is how proteins recognize "correct" interaction partners in a sea of cellular factors. Nowhere is that more critical to know than in the brain, where interactions governing channel protein activity can alter an organism's behavior.

23 Mar 2011

Researchers discover 'broad spectrum' cancer suppressor gene

Portuguese researchers have discovered a "broad spectrum" cancer suppressor gene - called LRP1B - which acts by removing proteins crucial for cancer development from the tumour environment. The fact that LRP1B does not act on the tumour itself (in this study thyroid tumours) but, instead, on molecules which are known to be important to many different cancers is what makes it so interesting.

21 Mar 2011