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FDC precursor cells exist in the wall of blood vessels

Chronic inflammatory conditions are extremely common diseases in humans and in the entire animal kingdom. Both in autoimmune diseases and pathogen-caused diseases, the inflamed areas are rapidly colonized by antibody producing B lymphocytes - which organize themselves in highly structured areas called "lymphoid follicles".

6 Jul 2012

Neighboring non-cancer cells may contribute to drug resistance

One of cancer's most frightening characteristics is its ability to return after treatment. In the case of many forms of cancer, including the skin cancer known as melanoma, tailored drugs can eradicate cancer cells in the lab, but often produce only partial, temporary responses in patients. One of the burning questions in the field of cancer research has been and remains: how does cancer evade drug treatment?

5 Jul 2012

Cancer Therapeutics reveals proof of concept for second development drug

Cancer Therapeutics, a company focused on translating cancer biology research into novel treatments for cancer, today announced the validation and performance of a new targeted drug, CTx-294886, in combination with Avastin™ (bevacizumab – Genentech/Roche) in a preclinical model of breast cancer. At the same time the Company announced that it has developed a new High Throughput Screening (HTS) platform for the identification of small molecule inhibitors of protein ubiquitination, a key element in the essential cellular process of protein homeostasis, which is an exciting new target pathway for cancer treatment. Both scientific developments will be presented as posters at the EACR conference in Barcelona Spain on July 7-10 2012.

4 Jul 2012

Blocking AXL protein may prevent resistance to lung cancer drug

People with lung cancer who are treated with the drug Tarceva face a daunting uncertainty: although their tumors may initially shrink, it's not a question of whether their cancer will return—it's a question of when. And for far too many, it happens far too soon.

2 Jul 2012

Study details canonical Wnt signaling pathway

Many lung cancers are driven by mutations in the epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR), and so it makes sense that many successful modern treatments block EGFR activity. Unfortunately, cancers inevitably evolve around EGFR inhibition, and patients with lung cancers eventually relapse.

30 Jun 2012

New laboratory model for Huntington's disease

Cedars-Sinai scientists have joined with expert colleagues around the globe in using stem cells to develop a laboratory model for Huntington's disease, allowing researchers for the first time to test directly on human cells potential treatments for this fatal, inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

Vaccine for nicotine addiction developed

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested in mice an innovative vaccine to treat nicotine addiction.

28 Jun 2012

Study shows how brain insulin resistance contributes to neurodegeneration in AD

Rhode Island Hospital researcher Suzanne de la Monte, M.D., has found a link between brain insulin resistance (diabetes) and two other key mediators of neuronal injury that help Alzheimer's disease (AD) to propagate.

27 Jun 2012

RXi Pharmaceuticals initiates RXI-109 Phase 1 trial to reduce surgical scars

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation today announced that it successfully initiated its first ever clinical study with an RNAi compound, RXI-109, using their proprietary self-delivering RNAi technology.

27 Jun 2012

Novel small-molecule-inhibiting drug stops spread of breast cancer cells

Scientists have developed a small-molecule-inhibiting drug that in early laboratory cell tests stopped breast cancer cells from spreading and also promoted the growth of early nerve cells called neurites.

22 Jun 2012

Grb2 switch controls normal signaling through fibroblast growth factor receptor

Once considered merely a passive link between proteins that matter, Grb2 - pronounced "grab2" - actually lives up to its nickname with its controlling grip on an important cell signaling pathway, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the June 22 issue of Cell.

22 Jun 2012

Protein in blood can predict improper growth of fetus

Researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) have found a protein in the blood of pregnant women that can predict if they are likely to have a fetus that doesn't grow properly, and thus has a high risk of stillbirth and long-term health complications.

22 Jun 2012

New signal transduction pathway might be fruitful target for cancer drugs

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered a new signal transduction pathway specifically devoted to the regulation of alternative RNA splicing, a process that allows a single gene to produce or code multiple types of protein variants. The discovery, published in the June 27, 2012 issue of Molecular Cell, suggests the new pathway might be a fruitful target for new cancer drugs.

22 Jun 2012

Researchers develop new mouse model to study supertasting

Supertasting describes the ability to strongly detect food flavors such as bitter and sweet, and it can affect a person's food preferences. For example, supertasters are often averse to green vegetables because their bitter taste is amplified. Supertasters may also prefer foods lower in sugar and fat. Approximately one out of four people is a supertaster, and a supertaster's avoidance of sweet and fatty foods may have protective cardiovascular effects.

22 Jun 2012

Cancer publishes Aeterna Zentaris' perifosine Phase 2 trials in RCC

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. today announced that data from two Phase 2 trials in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) for the Company's oral anticancer drug, perifosine, have been published in the June 2012 issue of Cancer, a publication of the American Cancer Society.

18 Jun 2012

Patients with NK/T-cell lymphomas might benefit from treatment with JAK inhibitors

A substantial proportion of NK/T-cell lymphomas harbor Janus Kinase 3 gene mutations. Patients with these lymphomas might benefit from treatment with a Janus Kinase inhibitor according to a study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

16 Jun 2012

Psoriasis TNF-α therapeutic effects mediated by MSC antioxidant reduction

The therapeutic effects of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors in psoriasis occur through a reduction in the antioxidant response of mesenchymal stem cells, suggest study findings.

15 Jun 2012

Cancers often recur after treatment with single drugs that “target” tumor cells’ genetic pathways

Targeted cancer cell therapies using man-made proteins dramatically shrink many tumors in the first few months of treatment, but new research from Johns Hopkins scientists finds why the cells all too often become resistant, the treatment stops working, and the disease returns.

14 Jun 2012

Hepatocytes can create new liver system in mouse models

Researchers in Japan have found that hepatocytes, cells comprising the main tissue of the liver and involved in protein synthesis and storage, can assist in tissue engineering and create a "new liver system" in mouse models when donor mouse liver hepatocytes are isolated and propagated for transplantation.

12 Jun 2012

Promising preliminary data for axitinib in metastatic kidney cancer

Preliminary study data show that axitinib may be an effective first-line treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, particularly in patients with high therapeutic drug exposure and a rise in blood pressure during the first 2 weeks of treatment, researchers report.

12 Jun 2012