Membrane News and Research

RSS

Lipid blast shield protects natural killer cells and also some cancer cells

A newly discovered fat 'shield' that prevents natural killer cells from being destroyed by their own deadly biological weapons also allows some cancer cells to evade an immune system attack, a study at Columbia University has found.

3 Aug 2021

Discovery may enable the development of new therapies to kill aggressive cancer cells

Vanderbilt faculty and researchers are looking for the "Achilles' heel" of the cancer cells that survive initial chemotherapy.

3 Aug 2021

What is the potential of microphysiological systems in COVID-19 research?

In a recently published review article in the journal Drug Discovery Today, scientists have described the utility of human-based microphysiological systems MPSs in understanding the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and developing effective therapeutic interventions. Moreover, they have described the establishment of a global working group to synchronize recent developments around MPSs and COVID-19 research.

3 Aug 2021

New discovery could pave the way towards therapeutic treatments for many cancers

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre researchers have made new findings which provide a broader understanding of how dormant hematopoietic stem cells are activated and could pave the way towards therapeutic treatments for a number of cancers.

2 Aug 2021

Researchers discover titanium oxide nanoparticle that recognizes SARS-CoV-2’s non-structural protein 1

A pioneering study reports on the interaction of a tailored titanium oxide nanoparticle (NP) with the full-length SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 1 (nsp1). This should be of value in developing new therapeutic tools against coronaviruses that act by targeting their proteins. It could also help map the structure of activated proteins.

2 Aug 2021

Polyuridine sequence of mouse coronavirus can be targeted to prevent host cell death

A new study reports the use of a modified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) oligonucleotide that has a 3’ polyadenine (polyA) tail to bind to the 5’-polyU tract in the mouse coronavirus (MHV-A59). Treatment of mouse cells infected with MHV-A59 with this molecule led to a marked reduction in cell deaths.

2 Aug 2021

Could novel biosensors facilitate SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug research?

An intriguing new study presents a novel approach to biosensor-based evaluation of promising drugs that could inhibit the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) via its 3C-like protease (3CLpro), a viral protease.

2 Aug 2021

Scientists develop a potent peptide inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

In a recently published article in the journal Drugs in R&D, scientists have described the development and validation of a 13-amino acid peptide inhibitor of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Aug 2021

Finding potential microRNAs from humans and plants against SARS-CoV-2

A new study focuses on the identification of probable miRNA candidates from three medicinal plants.

1 Aug 2021

Study looks at potent phytocompounds from Himalayan herbs to treat COVID-19

Considering the antiviral activity of medicinal herbs, a new study published in the journal Current Pharmacology Reports focuses on the identification of potent phytochemicals from Himalayan herbs, namely, Rheum emodi, Thymus serpyllum, and Artemisia annua, for the treatment of COVID-19.

1 Aug 2021

Researchers test a library of lipid-based compounds to enable safe delivery of RNA drugs to the lungs

Hokkaido University researchers in Japan created and tested a library of lipid-based compounds to find a way to safely and effectively deliver RNA drugs to the lungs.

30 Jul 2021

Study provides new understanding on function of mitofusin 2 in cellular energy metabolism

Mitofusin 2 is a key protein in the regulation of the physiology of mitochondria ─cellular organelles that produce energy─ involved in several neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, as well as in cancer.

30 Jul 2021

In-silico prediction of effective drug combinations for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study published on the bioRxiv preprint server has developed the first computational model, i.e., a signaling network model, that can predict effective repurposed drug combinations to treat different phases of COVID-19 disease. This study has focused on identifying drugs for the treatment of early- and late-stage severe disease.

30 Jul 2021

Large nanodiscs simulate viral entry into host cells

In a paper recently uploaded to the journal Frontiers in Biotechnology by Padmanabha Das et al. (June 12th, 2020), a method of producing significantly larger homogenous nanodiscs up to 90 nm in diameter is described, and the advantages and applications of such nanodiscs are explored: better replicating the actual curvature and membrane symmetry of a real cell membrane, and allowing much larger or multiple membrane proteins to be loaded simultaneously.

30 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 interacts with sialic acid cell surface glycans

In a paper recently uploaded to the journal Frontiers in Chemistry by Li et al. (July 22nd, 2021) the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA), the most commonly found sialic acid in humans, is investigated, finding that the molecule may act as a secondary or supplementary receptor to the virus.

30 Jul 2021

New study shines light on how plant cells perceive and respond to mechanical forces

Minuscule tunnels through the cell membrane help cells to perceive and respond to mechanical forces, such as pressure or touch. A new study in the journal Science is among the first to directly investigate what one type of these mechanosensitive ion channels is doing in the tip-growing cells in moss and pollen tubes of flowering plants, and how.

29 Jul 2021

Mass spectrometry used to develop N-glycosylation profiles for SARS-CoV-2 D614G

A new study has characterized and compared the N-glycosylation of the wild type (S-614D) and variant (S-614G) of SARS-CoV-2 S glycoproteins using MS techniques.

28 Jul 2021

A quantitative assessment of SARS-CoV-2 bioaerosol production

In an effort to improve the sensitivity and sample recovery of mask sampling, researchers developed a mask sampling tool to assess bioaerosol variation.

28 Jul 2021

Rosin soap as a potential SARS-CoV-2 disinfectant

In a research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv* by Bell et al. (July 19th, 2021), the potential of rosin soap as a virucide is investigated, finding a ten-thousand-fold drop in infectivity against enveloped viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 in particular.

26 Jul 2021

Activation of integrins by SARS-CoV-2 may be key to infection

A new study describes the key role of membrane proteins called integrins, which are present in epithelia, in the entry and propagation of SARS-CoV-2.

25 Jul 2021

Membrane News and Research

Lipid blast shield protects natural killer cells and also some cancer cells

Discovery may enable the development of new therapies to kill aggressive cancer cells

What is the potential of microphysiological systems in COVID-19 research?

New discovery could pave the way towards therapeutic treatments for many cancers

Researchers discover titanium oxide nanoparticle that recognizes SARS-CoV-2’s non-structural protein 1

Polyuridine sequence of mouse coronavirus can be targeted to prevent host cell death

Could novel biosensors facilitate SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug research?

Scientists develop a potent peptide inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Finding potential microRNAs from humans and plants against SARS-CoV-2

Study looks at potent phytocompounds from Himalayan herbs to treat COVID-19

Researchers test a library of lipid-based compounds to enable safe delivery of RNA drugs to the lungs

Study provides new understanding on function of mitofusin 2 in cellular energy metabolism

In-silico prediction of effective drug combinations for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Large nanodiscs simulate viral entry into host cells

SARS-CoV-2 interacts with sialic acid cell surface glycans

New study shines light on how plant cells perceive and respond to mechanical forces

Mass spectrometry used to develop N-glycosylation profiles for SARS-CoV-2 D614G

A quantitative assessment of SARS-CoV-2 bioaerosol production

Rosin soap as a potential SARS-CoV-2 disinfectant

Activation of integrins by SARS-CoV-2 may be key to infection

Latest eBooks

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Advancing degrader and proximity-based drug development

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo