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Researchers demonstrate how insulin prepares cells for glucose uptake

Using high-resolution microscopy, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have shown how insulin prompts fat cells to take in glucose in a rat model. The findings were reported in the Sept. 8 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

9 Sep 2010

Synthetic derivative of Retinoic acid can induce cell death

Retinoic acid (RA), a natural derivative of vitamin A, is the basis of a number of treatments against cancer. Nevertheless, it has certain disadvantages, such as the possibility of the appearance of retinoic acid syndrome, present in 25 % of cases and which can lead to death. The development of 4-HPR, a synthetic derivative of RA, has meant a considerable advance due to its greater efficacy compared to its predecessor.

8 Sep 2010

RA synthetic derivative 4-HPR's ability to induce tumour cell death

7 Sep 2010

Researchers identify two proteins in cellular response to mechanical stimulation

Scripps Research Institute scientists have identified two proteins with potential to be important targets for research into a wide range of health problems, including pain, deafness, and cardiac and kidney dysfunction.

3 Sep 2010

Cell-to-cell signaling pathway that designates future location of ear's sensory organs tracked

Researchers have tracked a cell-to-cell signaling pathway that designates the future location of the ear's sensory organs in embryonic mice. The scientists succeeded in activating this signal more widely across the embryonic tissue that becomes the inner ear. Patches of sensory structures began growing in spots where they don't normally appear.

30 Aug 2010

New high throughput sequencing technology to identify genetic defects in rare diseases

The majority of rare diseases are hereditary. But despite significant progress in genome research, in most cases their exact cause remains unclear. The discovery of the underlying genetic defect is, however, a prerequisite for their definitive diagnosis and the development of innovative approaches to their treatment. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and the Institute of Medical Genetics at the Charit- Universit-tsmedizin - Berlin have succeeded in using a new process with which all of the genes in the human genome can be analysed simultaneously.

30 Aug 2010

Study finds BMI, thrombogenic factor increases cardiovascular risk

Although having a high body mass index (BMI) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, researchers are only beginning to understand how BMI affects the physiological processes involved in the development of the disease. Now, a study of a subset of women in the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS), suggests that as BMI increases, so do platelet reactivity and thrombogenic microvesicles and activated protein C in the blood-all of which contribute to the formation of atherothrombosis and associated cardiovascular events.

30 Aug 2010

Pathogens can delay entry into cells to ensure their survival, say researchers

Pathogens make themselves feel at home in the human body, invading cells and living off the plentiful amenities on offer. However, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, together with colleagues at Harvard University, reveal an opposite strategy used to ensure infection success. Pathogens can actually delay their entry into cells to ensure their survival.

26 Aug 2010

New squeeze test for screening potential drugs for Alzheimer's

Brain cells exposed to a form of the amyloid beta protein, the molecule linked to Alzheimer's disease, become stiffer and bend less under pressure, researchers at UC Davis have found. The results reveal one mechanism by which the amyloid protein damages the brain, a finding that could lead to new ways to screen drugs for Alzheimer's and similar diseases.

21 Aug 2010

Research on ocean-dwelling bacterium unveils food poisoning mechanism in human

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered a key weapon in the molecular arsenal the infectious bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. para) uses to kill cells and cause food poisoning in its human host.

20 Aug 2010

Xcelligence System provides real-time detection of neuronal cell death

Time course analyses of neuronal cell death and its underlying mechanisms require laborious experiments and multiple endpoint assays, often involving labelling with irritating compounds and cell disruption. A recent study used the xCELLigence System of Roche to investigate the response of the neuronal-like cell line HT-22 and cultured primary rat cortical neurons to different cell death stimuli and neuroprotectants.

18 Aug 2010

Study shows increase in IL-6 secretion can reduce Tarceva sensitivity to treat lung tumor cells

One of the most tantalizing developments in anti-cancer therapy over recent years has been the advent of targeted treatments, which have proven highly effective in holding aggressive cancers at bay in certain patients, although typically only for a limited period of time.

18 Aug 2010

New insight into protein transport mechanism can improve chemotherapy treatments

A new study conducted in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Tel Aviv University (TAU) elucidates the way in which toxic, yet essential, copper ions enter human cells. As a chemotherapy drug presumably enters the cells in a similar manner, the results of this study pave the way for the development of improved chemotherapeutic drugs. The groundbreaking work was published in the leading American scientific journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

10 Aug 2010

Scientists identify role of PNPASE in regulating RNA import into mitochondria

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine have uncovered a role for an essential cell protein in shuttling RNA into the mitochondria, the energy-producing "power plant" of the cell. The import of nucleus-encoded small RNAs into mitochondria is essential for the replication, transcription and translation of the mitochondrial genome, but the mechanisms that deliver RNA into mitochondria remain poorly understood.

7 Aug 2010

Research findings could lead to new drugs that reduce severity of blood infections leading to sepsis

Scientists have made an important discovery that could lead to new drugs that reduce the severity of blood infections leading to sepsis. Research presented in the August 2010 issue of Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows how interfering with the function of the cell membrane protein called "Programmed Death 1" (PD-1) improves survival in a clinically relevant model of severe infection.

2 Aug 2010

Study implicates Fritz's role in human genetic disorders

Mutations in a gene known as "Fritz" may be responsible for causing human genetic disorders such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome, University of Texas at Austin developmental biologist John Wallingford and Duke University human geneticist and cell biologist Nicholas Katsanis have found.

31 Jul 2010

Research establishes bases of possible future pharmaceutical drugs to combat AIDS virus

The doors are closing on the AIDS virus. The scientific community continues to strive to find the formula that will halt the advance of one of the viruses that has sparked most scientific interest over recent years. A study by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient-ficas (CSIC) and led by Mr F-lix Go-i, director of the Biophysics Unit at the CSIC-University of the Basque Country Mixed Centre, has developed a method of attack against the AIDS virus The method involves creating a prevention system, i.e. an 'armour' in the cells that are likely to be infected and thus impede, de facto, the virus from accessing them and starting to act on their immunological system.

31 Jul 2010

Researchers develop new fluorescent biosensor for drug development

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new fluorescent biosensor that could aid in the development of an important class of drugs that target a crucial class of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

30 Jul 2010

Researchers unveil mechanism of cholera bacteria to create cell energy

Researchers have found that an enzyme in the bacteria that causes cholera uses a previously unknown mechanism in providing the bacteria with energy. Because the enzyme is not found in most other organisms, including humans, the finding offers insights into how drugs might be created to kill the bacteria without harming humans.

29 Jul 2010

Scientists develop laser activated carbon nanoparticles for drug, gene delivery

Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells.Carbon nanoparticles activated by bursts of laser light trigger the tiny blasts, which open holes in cell membranes just long enough to admit therapeutic agents contained in the surrounding fluid. By adjusting laser exposure, the researchers administered a small-molecule marker compound to 90 percent of targeted cells - while keeping more than 90 percent of the cells alive.

28 Jul 2010