Proliferation News and Research

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Study offers new way to suppress growth factors related to cancer cell proliferation

Cancer cells need life-essential molecules to proliferate. These so-called growth factors are activated by ectodomain shedding of precursor proteins on the outside of the plasma membrane, mainly carried out by three human cleavage enzymes. A pharmaceutical blocking of these enzymes could hinder cancer from growing but would also inhibit other life-essential processes.

13 Jul 2015

Decreased connectivity between network-specific brain regions linked to cognitive deficit in MS

An estimated 2.3 million individuals are living with multiple sclerosis (MS) worldwide. Approximately half of all individuals with MS experience changes in cognition such as impaired concentration, attention, memory, and judgment. The underlying brain basis for these deleterious effects has been largely elusive.

8 Jul 2015

Dental pulp stem cell transplants can contribute to peripheral nerve regeneration

Peripheral nerve injuries often are caused by trauma or surgical complications and can result in considerable disabilities. Regeneration of peripheral nerves can be accomplished effectively using autologous (self-donated) nerve grafts, but that procedure may sacrifice a functional nerve and cause loss of sensation in another part of the patient's body.

7 Jul 2015

Study could provide paradigm shift in treatment of age-related disease, cancer

Intermittent dosing with rapamycin selectively breaks the cascade of inflammatory events that follow cellular senescence, a phenomena in which cells cease to divide in response to DNA damaging agents, including many chemotherapies.

7 Jul 2015

Review article provides in depth survey of studies focusing on retinoblastoma protein's role in apoptosis

Retinoblastoma protein RB1, which is named after a form of pediatric tumor of the eye, is among the most common genetically regulated cellular proteins to malfunction in human cancer. RB1 was also the first tumor suppressor gene to be identified and its modes of inactivation in retinoblastoma tumors provided the basis for the ground-breaking two-hit hypothesis by the geneticist Alfred G. Knudson in the 70s, according to which cancer is due to the accumulation of multiple 'hits' or mutations in certain genes.

3 Jul 2015

Live imaging study reveals link between wound-associated inflammation and skin cancer risk

Researchers in the United Kingdom and Denmark have studied the "see-through" larvae of zebrafish to reveal how wound healing leads to skin cancer. Live imaging shows neutrophils, the protective inflammatory cells of the body's immune system, diverted from an induced wound to any nearby precancerous skin cells.

1 Jul 2015

New species of tRNA-derived small RNAs contribute to cell proliferation in cancer

Since their discovery in the 1950s, transfer RNAs (tRNAs) have been best known for their role in helping the cell make proteins from messenger RNA templates. However, recent studies have led to a previously-unsuspected concept that tRNAs are not always the end product; namely, they further serve as a source of small RNAs.

30 Jun 2015

Wistar Institute study shows that PI3K inhibitors may make a patient's cancer even worse

The enzyme phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) appears to be exploited in almost every type of human cancer, making it the focus of considerable interest as a therapeutic target, with many PI3K-inhibiting drugs currently in various stages of clinical development. However, PI3K inhibitors have only shown modest clinical activity with patients who receive these drugs experiencing very little improvement in survival.

30 Jun 2015

Discovery sheds light on how the Hippo pathway maintains cellular balance

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a self-regulating loop in the Hippo pathway, a signaling channel garnering increased attention from cancer researchers due to its role in controlling organ size, cell proliferation and cell death.

27 Jun 2015

Discovery may accelerate development of new drugs to treat Huntington's disease

By identifying in spinal fluid how the characteristic mutant proteins of Huntington's disease spread from cell to cell, UC Irvine scientists and colleagues have created a new method to quickly and accurately track the presence and proliferation of these neuron-damaging compounds -- a discovery that may accelerate the development of new drugs to treat this incurable disease.

24 Jun 2015

New research sheds light on molecular architecture of receptors linked to many brain diseases

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have teamed up with several other institutions and pharmaceutical companies, including the University of Southern California (USC), San Diego's Receptos Inc. and Japanese company Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., to publish the first 3D structures of a receptor implicated in many diseases of the brain and in normal physiology throughout the body.

22 Jun 2015

New review highlights strategies to inhibit infections during the laundering process of HCT

Proper laundering and handling are important in achieving and maintaining the hygienically-clean quality of healthcare fabrics and textiles delivered to the point of care, according to a new review that highlights evidence-based strategies to inhibit potentially serious contamination.

19 Jun 2015

EPFL scientists show how a major effector protein binds chromatin and regulates gene expression

Inside the cell, DNA is tightly coiled and packed with several proteins into a structure called "chromatin", which allows DNA to fit in the cell while also preventing genes from being expressed at the wrong time. Guided by a chemical "barcode", specialized effector proteins can bind chromatin and either unwind it or compact further to activate or silence genes.

18 Jun 2015

MGH researchers develop new approach to skin rejuvenation

A new approach to skin rejuvenation developed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) may be less likely to have unintended side effects such as scarring and altered pigmentation.

18 Jun 2015

Stony Brook University, CadheRx Therapeutics sign licensing agreement for anti-cancer technology

Stony Brook University has entered into a licensing agreement with a startup company, CadheRx Therapeutics, to develop and market an anti-cancer technology discovered by Sabine Brouxhon, MD, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

16 Jun 2015

DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals supports WHO’s ‘Call to Action’ on antimicrobial resistance

Following the Global Health Summit in Uppsala (Sweden) on 2-3 June, 2015, DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals pledged its commitment to the WHO’s ‘Call to Action’ on antimicrobial resistance issued at the Summit. One of the biggest opportunities to maintain the effectiveness and availability of antibiotics is responsible waste management, to date a highly undervalued dimension in the debate around resistance. DSP promised to use its expertise and influence in this area to help curb antimicrobial resistance.

16 Jun 2015

Researchers show how a new drug speeds tissue regeneration in animal models

The concept sounds like the stuff of science fiction: take a pill, and suddenly new tissues grow to replace damaged ones. Researchers at Case Western Reserve and UT Southwestern Medical Center this week announced that they have taken significant steps toward turning this once-improbable idea into a vivid reality.

12 Jun 2015

Researchers pinpoint gene that may solve the root cause of diabetes

Professor Jeffery Tessem has pinpointed a gene that may help solve a riddle at the root of diabetes, the high-blood-sugar disease affecting 400 million people worldwide.

9 Jun 2015

Gold nanoparticles with functional surfaces regulate osteogenic differentiation of stem cells

Tissue Regeneration Materials Unit (Guoping Chen, Unit Director) at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) (Masakazu Aono, Director General, MANA), NIMS (Sukekatsu Ushioda, President) successfully developed gold nanoparticles that have functional surfaces and act on osteogenic differentiation of stem cells.

8 Jun 2015

Researchers identify immune system marker that drives therapy-resistant prostate cancer

You are a patient who has just been treated for a serious illness but neither you nor your doctor knows how likely it is that you -- in comparison with other patients -- will actually be helped by the treatment. This is often the situation with prostate cancer, one of the deadliest and most highly prevalent cancers. While hormone therapy can help, patient responses vary widely, and it's still unclear why some types of prostate cancer seem to be resistant to the therapy.

5 Jun 2015