Mitochondria News and Research

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Scientists develop synthetic peptide that overcomes cancer cells’ survival defenses

Scientists at the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center have developed an anti-cancer peptide that overcomes the stubborn resistance to chemotherapy and radiation often encountered in certain blood cancers when the disease recurs following initial treatment.

30 May 2012

Blocking Skp2 protein might inhibit glycolysis and treat breast cancer

HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in the May 25 issue of Cell.

28 May 2012

Researchers identify two gene mutations that cause neuromuscular disorder

Research into how carbohydrates are converted into energy has led to a surprising discovery with implications for the treatment of a perplexing and potentially fatal neuromuscular disorder and possibly even cancer and heart disease.

25 May 2012

Placental stem cells with key therapeutic properties can be harvested from chorion

Scientists at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) led by Vladimir Serikov, MD, PhD, and Frans Kuypers, PhD, report in the current Epub issue of Stem Cells Translational Medicine that placental stem cells with important therapeutic properties can be harvested in large quantities from the fetal side of human term placentas.

19 May 2012

Administering vitamin K2 could possibly help patients with Parkinson's

Neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken, associated with VIB and KU Leuven, succeeded in undoing the effect of one of the genetic defects that leads to Parkinson's using vitamin K2. His discovery gives hope to Parkinson's patients.

11 May 2012

Glial cells pass on metabolites to neurons

Around 100 billion neurons in the human brain enable us to think, feel and act. They transmit electrical impulses to remote parts of the brain and body via long nerve fibres known as axons. This communication requires enormous amounts of energy, which the neurons are thought to generate from sugar. Axons are closely associated with glial cells which, on the one hand, surround them with an electrically insulating myelin sheath and, on the other hand support their long-term function.

11 May 2012

Study describes new family of six genes that control mitochondrial transport in neurons

A team headed by Eduardo Soriano at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has published a study in Nature Communications describing a new family of six genes whose function regulates the movement and position of mitochondria in neurons.

10 May 2012

Protein vital for cell survival and immune balance has another form with different function

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators suggests that safeguarding cell survival and maintaining a balanced immune system is just the start of the myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL1) protein's work.

30 Apr 2012

Body’s own DNA can cause inflammation in the heart

DNA from the heart's own cells plays a role in heart failure by mistakenly activating the body's immune system, according to a study by British and Japanese researchers, co-funded by the British Heart Foundation.

26 Apr 2012

Impaired mitochondrial function may play a major role in mood and psychotic disorders

Janssen Research & Development, LLC announced today the publication of an article that reviews the growing evidence that impaired mitochondrial function may play a major role in mood and psychotic disorders.

25 Apr 2012

Novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy

A research team, led by John Guy, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has pioneered a novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited genetic defect that causes rapid, permanent, and bilateral loss of vision in people of all ages, but primarily males ages 20-40.

24 Apr 2012

Avocado oil protects against free radicals in mitochondria

Atmospheric oxygen facilitated the evolution and complexity of terrestrial organisms, including human beings, because it allowed nutrients to be used more efficiently by those organisms, which in turn were able to generate more energy. However, as we find out more about how oxygen molecules work inside the body, more attention is being paid to their not-so-good effects, and researchers are seeking ways to thwart them.

23 Apr 2012

Engineered particles tied to penetratin discover, deliver ligands for mitochondria, ribosomes

Scientists who developed a technology for identifying and targeting unique protein receptor ZIP Codes on the cellular surface have found a way to penetrate the outer membrane and deliver engineered particles - called iPhage - to organelles inside the cell.

18 Apr 2012

Disruption of key cellular functions produces physiologic and behavioral responses

Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research teams, along with a group from the University of California at San Diego, have discovered that animals have a previously unknown system for detecting and responding to pathogens and toxins. In three papers published in the journals Cell and Cell Host & Microbe, the investigators describe finding evidence that disruptions to the core functions of animal cells trigger immune and detoxification responses, along with behavioral changes.

16 Apr 2012

Stealth announces results from three Bendavia Phase I clinical trials for mitochondrial dysfunction

Stealth Peptides Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for diseases with unmet medical needs, announced today the results from three Phase I clinical trials of Bendavia, a novel compound that targets the mitochondrion to treat mitochondrial dysfunction, including ischemia reperfusion and microvascular injury.

9 Apr 2012

Scientists discover why rapamycin causes diabetic-like symptoms in patients

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered why diabetic-like symptoms develop in some patients given rapamycin, an immune-suppressant drug that also has shown anti-cancer activity and may even slow ageing.

4 Apr 2012

Combination treatment effective against melanoma

Research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) shows that a coordinated effort to block signaling pathways that promote cancer cell growth and survival enhances programmed cell death in melanoma.

3 Apr 2012

Nmnat enzyme plays a critical role in nerve injury

A new animal model of nerve injury has brought to light a critical role of an enzyme called Nmnat in nerve fiber maintenance and neuroprotection.

31 Mar 2012

Switch may release fuel and materials for rapid growth and formation of layers that later become organs

Shortly after a mouse embryo starts to form, some of its stem cells undergo a dramatic metabolic shift to enter the next stage of development, Seattle researchers report today. These stem cells start using and producing energy like cancer cells.

26 Mar 2012

New advance in ability to target and destroy certain cancer cells

An international team of scientists has announced a new advance in the ability to target and destroy certain cancer cells. A group led by the University of Leicester has shown that particular cancer cells are especially sensitive to a protein called p21. This protein usually forces normal and cancer cells to stop dividing but it was recently shown that in some cases it can also kill cancer cells.