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.

Myostatin responsible for initiation of muscle loss: Study

A research study from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has yielded important breakthroughs on how the body loses muscle, paving the way for new treatments for aging, obesity and diabetes.

19 Dec 2012

MiR-122 plays a critical role in the life cycle of hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus has evolved to invade and hijack the basic machinery of the human liver cell to ensure its survival and spread. Researchers at the University of North have discovered how hepatitis C binds with and repurposes a basic component of cellular metabolism known as a microRNA to help protect and replicate the virus.

19 Dec 2012

Scientists decode VEGF/Ang1/Syx pathway that regulates leakiness of blood vessels

A research team led by scientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida have decoded the entire pathway that regulates leakiness of blood vessels — a condition that promotes a wide number of disorders, such as heart disease, cancer growth and spread, inflammation and respiratory distress.

18 Dec 2012

CNIO creates 2 new databases to study the human genome

Scientists from the Structural Computational Biology Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), led by Alfonso Valencia, together with French and American researchers, have published recently two articles in the journal Nucleic Acid Research (NAR) that introduce two new databases for studying the human genome.

18 Dec 2012

MiR-181 molecule tied to breast cancer metastasis

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a molecule linked to more aggressive forms of breast cancer - a discovery that could point the way to potential cures.

18 Dec 2012

High AngII levels put stress on the ER and cause hypertension

When the heart works too hard, the brain may be to blame, says new Cornell University research that is changing how scientists look at high blood pressure (hypertension). The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in November, traces hypertension to a newfound cellular source in the brain and shows that treatments targeting this area can reverse the disease.

18 Dec 2012

PRSS3 enzyme linked to aggressive prostate cancer

Researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have identified an enzyme specifically linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and have also developed a compound that inhibits the ability of this molecule to promote the metastatic spread of the cancer.

18 Dec 2012

Injecting LECT2 may protect against bacterial sepsis

Failure to launch an adequate immune response may be at the root of septic shock, according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine on December 17th.

18 Dec 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT to treat seasonal flu

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Virus Vaccine) for the immunisation of children (three years and older) and adults to help prevent disease caused by seasonal influenza (flu) virus subtypes A and type B contained in the vaccine.

17 Dec 2012

New MIT technology may help make cancer biomarker detection much easier

Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult.

17 Dec 2012

Study successfully identifies ways to manipulate mitoNEET protein

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have taken another step toward better understanding the metabolic functions of obesity and its connection to type 2 diabetes.

17 Dec 2012

Dantrolene shows promise for treating DMD

A muscle relaxant called dantrolene used for treating malignant hyperthermia boosts the activity of therapies currently being developed to treat the genetic disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), show study findings.

17 Dec 2012

ProMining Therapeutics, Roche to develop small molecule therapeutics for type 2 diabetes mellitus

ProMining Therapeutics, Ltd. today announced a new collaboration with Roche in the field of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

17 Dec 2012

Paternal exposure to cocaine can impair gene expression and behavior in their offspring

Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals that sons of male rats exposed to cocaine are resistant to the rewarding effects of the drug, suggesting that cocaine-induced changes in physiology are passed down from father to son.

17 Dec 2012

New model of how the capsid of viruses assembles

A new model of the how the protein coat (capsid) of viruses assembles, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Biophysics, shows that the construction of intermediate structures prior to final capsid production (hierarchical assembly) can be more efficient than constructing the capsid protein by protein (direct assembly).

17 Dec 2012

Study describes new, paradoxical characteristics of HER2-negative breast cancer

A multicenter study led by researchers at UC Davis describes new, paradoxical characteristics of the most common type of breast cancer. The findings shed light on how the disease can evade treatment and could improve diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

15 Dec 2012

Everolimus therapy might treat Myc-driven lymphoma

Drugs that are used in the clinic to treat some forms of breast and kidney cancer and that work by inhibiting the signaling molecule mTORC1 might have utility in treating some of the more than 15 percent of human cancers driven by alterations in the Myc gene, according to data from a preclinical study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Dec 2012

Research provides broader understanding of processes that lead to Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting over 35 million people worldwide. It is generally assumed that the clumping of beta-amyloid (Aβ) protein causes neuronal loss in patients.

15 Dec 2012

Consuming whole eggs may improve blood lipids, new research suggests

It is estimated that 34% of Americans are affected by an increasingly prevalent condition known as metabolic syndrome which is a combination of at least three of the following risk factors: large waistline, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar.

15 Dec 2012

MDx, Amarantus sign license agreement for LymPro Alzheimer's disease diagnostic blood test

Amarantus BioScience, Inc., a biotechnology company discovering and developing treatments for diseases associated with protein misfolding and apoptosis, today announced that it has licensed the LymPro Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic Blood Test (LymPro) from Memory Dx, LLC (MDx), formerly known as Provista Life Sciences, Inc.

14 Dec 2012