Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Researchers reveal DNA unwrapping can happen asymmetrically to expose specific genes

The protein complex that holds strands of DNA in compact spools partially disassembles itself to help genes reveal themselves to specialized proteins and enzymes for activation, according to Rice University researchers and their colleagues.

22 Jun 2016

New study suggests how rod photoreceptors may have originated to give rise to nocturnal mammals

Retinas from our earliest vertebrate ancestors had cone-like photoreceptors, presumably allowing them to see in daylight, but little ability to see at night. Then, millions of years ago in the Mesozoic era, and in relatively short order, mammals emerged that had retinas with predominantly rod photoreceptors, allowing for them to see at night perhaps to hunt for food while their dinosaur predators were dozing.

22 Jun 2016

Protein-based CHD risk score developed

Researchers have screened over 1000 plasma proteins to develop a predictive score in patients with stable coronary heart disease.

22 Jun 2016

Scientists uncover five new genetic causes of bowel cancer

A landmark study has given the most detailed picture yet of the genetics of bowel cancer - the UK's fourth most common cancer.

22 Jun 2016

Highly structured nutrition therapy provides substantial impact on A1C, body weight and lipid profiles

Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have announced the results of a study that may change how nutrition therapy is delivered to overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes.

22 Jun 2016

First CRISPR/Cas9 screen helps identify human proteins required for Zika virus replication

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have performed the first CRISPR/Cas9 screen to discover human proteins that Zika virus needs for replication.

22 Jun 2016

SORLA protein makes fat cells oversensitive to insulin

SORLA is a protein that influences the balance of metabolic processes in adipose tissue, a particular form of fat. Too much of it makes fat cells overly sensitive to insulin, which leads them to break down less fat. SORLA was previously known for its protective role in Alzheimer's disease.

22 Jun 2016

Drexel University researchers aim to identify new molecular mechanisms involved in chronic pain

Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent, disabling and expensive public health crises in the United States. It affects more than 100 million Americans, with annual costs estimated at $635 billion, says a 2014 report from the American Pain Society.

22 Jun 2016

New CAR-based therapy using combined cancer target could be effective for solid tumors

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), engineered from a patient's own immune cells, have been successful for treating blood cancers, but using CARs for solid tumors has been limited by side effects to normal tissues containing the protein targeted by the engineered cells.

22 Jun 2016

Molecular map of transporter proteins could be vital step toward drug discovery against zinc-related diseases

Mapping the molecular structure where medicine goes to work is a crucial step toward drug discovery against deadly diseases.

21 Jun 2016

New protein risk score may help predict cardiovascular risk in patients with CHD

In a study appearing in the June 21 issue of JAMA, Peter Ganz, M.D., of the University of California-San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a study to develop and validate a score to predict risk of cardiovascular outcomes among patients with coronary heart disease using analysis of circulating proteins.

21 Jun 2016

Potential therapeutic approaches to combat chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) develops through chromosomal alterations in blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and usually occurs in older persons. Around 20 percent of adults diagnosed with leukemia suffer from this type of blood cancer.

21 Jun 2016

Researchers identify new myosin kinase that could optimize heart contractions

The heart is the only muscle that contracts and relaxes continuously over a lifetime to pump oxygen-rich blood to the body's organs. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center now have identified a previously unrecognized enzyme that could optimize contraction and lead to new strategies to treat heart failure.

21 Jun 2016

Long-term opioid therapy may not be effective to manage pain in sickle cell disease patients

In a small study looking at pain assessments in adults with sickle cell disease, researchers at Johns Hopkins says overall, those treated long-term with opioids often fared worse in measures of pain, fatigue and curtailed daily activities than those not on long-term opioids.

21 Jun 2016

Scientists aim to explore how gestational diabetes can put babies at lifelong risk for cardiovascular disease

Gestational diabetes can put babies at a lifelong risk for cardiovascular disease, and scientists want to better understand how.

21 Jun 2016

Breast cancer cells use new signaling pathway to cope with lack of oxygen levels inside tumors

Researchers have identified a new signaling pathway that helps cancer cells cope with the lack of oxygen found inside tumors. These are the results of a study published in Nature Cell Biology on June 20, and led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, the University of Toronto, Harvard Medical School and Oxford University.

21 Jun 2016

New blood test could help predict severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that rising blood levels of a protein called hematoma derived growth factor (HDGF) are linked to the increasing severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a form of damaging high blood pressure in the lungs.

20 Jun 2016

TUM researchers uncover molecular mechanism of thalidomide

In the 1950s, thalidomide (Contergan) was prescribed as a sedative drug to pregnant women, resulting in a great number of infants with serious malformations. Up to now, the reasons for these disastrous birth defects have remained unclear.

20 Jun 2016

Study suggests how expression, function of nAChRs regulated in AD

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been pursued for decades as potential molecular targets to treat cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to their demonstrated role in processes underlying cognition such as synaptic facilitation, and theta and gamma wave activity.

20 Jun 2016

Scientists study fundamentals of tumour surveillance by immune system in mice models

The body's defences detect and eliminate not only pathogens but also tumour cells. Natural killer cells (NK-Cells) are specifically activated by chemical messengers, the Cytokines, to seek and destroy tumour cells.

20 Jun 2016

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers reveal DNA unwrapping can happen asymmetrically to expose specific genes

New study suggests how rod photoreceptors may have originated to give rise to nocturnal mammals

Protein-based CHD risk score developed

Scientists uncover five new genetic causes of bowel cancer

Highly structured nutrition therapy provides substantial impact on A1C, body weight and lipid profiles

First CRISPR/Cas9 screen helps identify human proteins required for Zika virus replication

SORLA protein makes fat cells oversensitive to insulin

Drexel University researchers aim to identify new molecular mechanisms involved in chronic pain

New CAR-based therapy using combined cancer target could be effective for solid tumors

Molecular map of transporter proteins could be vital step toward drug discovery against zinc-related diseases

New protein risk score may help predict cardiovascular risk in patients with CHD

Potential therapeutic approaches to combat chronic myeloid leukemia

Researchers identify new myosin kinase that could optimize heart contractions

Long-term opioid therapy may not be effective to manage pain in sickle cell disease patients

Scientists aim to explore how gestational diabetes can put babies at lifelong risk for cardiovascular disease

Breast cancer cells use new signaling pathway to cope with lack of oxygen levels inside tumors

New blood test could help predict severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension

TUM researchers uncover molecular mechanism of thalidomide

Study suggests how expression, function of nAChRs regulated in AD

Scientists study fundamentals of tumour surveillance by immune system in mice models

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