Apoptosis News and Research

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Apoptosis is programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

How do infections and toxins launch a cell's self-destruct and alarm system?

Cells are coded with several programs for self-destruction.

11 Mar 2008

Molecular alliance that sustains embryonic stem cell state

One of the four ingredients in the genetic recipe that scientists in Japan and the U.S. followed last year to persuade human skin cells to revert to an embryonic stem cell state, is dispensable in ES cells, thanks to the presence of a molecular alliance between a specific group of key proteins known as transcription factors, a research team led by the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) reports in the current issue of Nature Cell Biology.

6 Mar 2008

Protein in embryonic stem cells control malignant tumor cells

A protein that governs development of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) also inhibits the growth and spread of malignant melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, Northwestern University researchers have discovered.

4 Mar 2008

Isotretinoin and acne

The most potent drug available for the treatment of acne is 13-cis retinoic acid (13-cis RA; also known as isotretinoin); however, little is known about the mechanism by which it acts.

4 Mar 2008

New discovery on programmed cell death

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered a dance of proteins that protects certain cells from undergoing apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. Understanding the fine points of apoptosis is important to researchers seeking ways to control this process.

1 Mar 2008

New genetic link to schizophrenia

Schizophrenia emerges from an altered pattern of brain development, and researchers continue to search for the genes that cause the brain to develop along a path that ultimately leads to schizophrenia.

28 Feb 2008

Potential novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke

A new compound that blocks an early step in cell death could lead to a novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke.

28 Feb 2008

High zinc status in lung cells slows growth and induces DNA

Researchers at the University of Maryland at College Park have discovered that Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial (NHBE) cells cultured in medium with elevated zinc level, at the high end of plasma zinc attainable by oral supplementation, demonstrated inhibition of cell growth, up-regulation of growth arrest and DNA damage-induced gene (Gadd45) mRNA and protein expression, and blockage of G2/M cell cycle progression.

26 Feb 2008

Newly discovered ERK pathway proteins related to CagA induced disease

Cytotoxin-associated gene A protein (CagA) from type I H.pylori has been proved by epidemiological and experimental studies to be closely associated with the H.pylori induced gastric diseases, especially gastric cancer.

25 Feb 2008

Potential new strategy for treating lupus

Immune cells that would normally die in healthy people accumulate in bodies of patients who have lupus and contribute to the disease, according to new Saint Louis University research published in the Feb. 15 issue of Immunity.

17 Feb 2008

Maslinic acid from olives shows anti-cancer properties

A research group of the University of Granada has found out that maslinic acid, a compound present in the leaf and the olive skin wax extracted from alpeorujo (crushed olive pulp), has the capacity of preventing cancer as well as regulating apoptosis in carcinogenic processes.

14 Feb 2008

Cigarettes leave deadly path by purging protective genes

A University of Rochester scientist discovered that the toxins in cigarette smoke wipe out a gene that plays a vital role in protecting the body from the effects of premature aging.

24 Jan 2008

Smoking wipes out protective genes

A University of Rochester scientist discovered that the toxins in cigarette smoke wipe out a gene that plays a vital role in protecting the body from the effects of premature aging.

21 Jan 2008

Scientists focus on Epstein-Barr virus

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human-pathogenic virus which belongs to the herpes virus family.

18 Jan 2008

New approach to cadmium induced hepatoxicity

Cadmium comes from a wide variety of sources in the environment and from industry and is extremely toxic to humans.

17 Jan 2008

Unique role of apoptosis protein TRADD in viral signaling

Epstein-Barr virus is incredibly common in humans; up to 95% of adults in the developed world have been infected, which causes glandular fever and has been linked to the development of several forms of cancer.

16 Jan 2008

Genetic evolution of tumours according to their growth dynamics.

A study co-directed by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and La Paz hospital in Madrid identifies a protein of high expression in cells located at the tumour boundary that could play an essential role in the evolution of tumours and their invasive potential.

11 Jan 2008