Cell Death News and Research

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Scientists unravel molecular mechanisms that drive ferroptosis signaling

Ferroptosis is a recently recognized form of regulated necrosis. Up until now, this form of cell death has only been thought to be a possible therapeutic approach to treat tumour cells. Yet, ferroptosis also occurs in non-transformed tissues as demonstrated by this study, thus implicating this cell death pathway in the development of a wide range of pathological conditions. More specifically, the deletion of the ferroptosis-regulating enzyme Gpx4 in a pre-clinical model results in high ferroptosis rates in kidney tubular epithelial cells causing acute renal failure.

19 Nov 2014

Blocking key brain receptor cell could neutralize biological consequences of Alzheimer's

Blocking a key receptor in brain cells that is used by oxygen free radicals could play a major role in neutralizing the biological consequences of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Temple University.

19 Nov 2014

Findings offer insight on mechanism reputed for triggering cell death

Synapse, the name for the signal-receiving site on a neuron, comes from the Greek word for contact. Neuroscientists used to maintain that neurons form one-to-one relationship to contact one another. Yet more researchers are finding evidence that shows how neurons function as part of a network. An incoming excitation does not always provoke an outgoing signal.

18 Nov 2014

Cholesterol-fighting statins inhibit uterine fibroid tumors that account for 50% of hysterectomies

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, in collaboration with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Baylor College of Medicine and the Georgia Regents University, report for the first time that the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin inhibits the growth of human uterine fibroid tumors.

16 Nov 2014

New view on how nerve cells die in Parkinson's disease

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have made an important breakthrough in our understanding of Parkin - a protein that regulates the repair and replacement of nerve cells within the brain.

16 Nov 2014

Researchers identify molecular switch that controls inflammatory processes in aging-related disorders

A study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has identified what appears to be a molecular switch controlling inflammatory processes involved in conditions ranging from muscle atrophy to Alzheimer's disease.

14 Nov 2014

Chemotherapy drug combined with cancer-killing virus may treat recurrent ovarian cancer

In six out of 10 cases, ovarian cancer is diagnosed when the disease is advanced and five-year survival is only 27 percent.

14 Nov 2014

Unique immunochemotherapy approach to treating pancreatic cancer

VCU Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers discovered a unique approach to treating pancreatic cancer that may be potentially safe and effective. The treatment method involves immunochemotherapy - a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which uses the patient's own immune system to help fight against disease.

13 Nov 2014

Researchers explain interaction between HNRNPA2B1 protein and pancreatic cancer development

Researchers from the University of Barcelona have described an interaction between the protein HNRNPA2B1 and pancreatic cancer development which remained unknown. The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, has proved in human cancer cell lines that this protein is essential to the correct activity of the oncogenic protein KRAS, related to cancer start and development.

11 Nov 2014

Melbourne researchers reveal key steps involved in programmed cell death

Melbourne researchers have uncovered key steps involved in programmed cell death, offering new targets for the treatment of diseases including lupus, cancers and neurodegenerative diseases.

31 Oct 2014

KU researchers find potential therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancer

A team at the University of Kansas School of Medicine has identified a potential target for treating breast cancer, including a particularly deadly form of the disease.

30 Oct 2014

Researchers propose new milestones to augment National Alzheimer's Plan

The U.S. Government has initiated a major effort to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's disease by 2025. However, a workgroup of nearly 40 Alzheimer's researchers and scientists says the research milestones in the U.S. Government's National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease must be broadened in scope, increased in scale, and adequately funded in order to successfully achieve this goal.

20 Oct 2014

MMP-3 disrupts brain/spinal cord barrier, promotes hemorrhage

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition with few treatment options. Studies show that damage to the barrier separating blood from the spinal cord can contribute to the neurologic deficits that arise secondary to the initial trauma. Through a series of sophisticated experiments, researchers reporting in The American Journal of Pathology suggest that matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) plays a pivotal role in disruption of the brain/spinal cord barrier (BSCB), cell death, and functional deficits after SCI.

20 Oct 2014

New automaton model simulates various scenarios of tumor growth

Cancer constantly wages war on the human body. Battles are won, lost or sometimes end in a stalemate. In pancreatic cancer, this stalemate—known as tumor dormancy—can last up to 25 years before becoming aggressively malignant, a phenomena that is poorly understood.

17 Oct 2014

Research on zebrafish helps identify cause of unknown genetic disorder

Research in zebrafish has helped identify the cause of an unknown genetic disorder affecting a boy and two of his uncles, scientists report in an article published October 14 in the journal GENETICS.

16 Oct 2014

Imperial researchers plan to test DTP3 drug in multiple myeloma patients

Scientists at Imperial College London have developed a new cancer drug which they plan to trial in multiple myeloma patients by the end of next year.

14 Oct 2014

New culture system confirms amyloid theory, can revolutionize drug discovery for Alzheimer's disease

An innovative laboratory culture system has succeeded, for the first time, in reproducing the full course of events underlying the development of Alzheimer's disease.

13 Oct 2014

Case Western Reserve researcher lands Director's New Innovator Awards from NIH

For the second consecutive year, a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher has landed one of the year's much-coveted Director's New Innovator Awards from the National Institutes of Health. Principal investigator Rong Xu, PhD, assistant professor of medical informatics, will receive $2,377,000 for five years, starting immediately, to initiate computational analysis of thousands of drugs and their effects.

8 Oct 2014

ERK and JNK enzymes may offer solutions for treating endometrial, colon cancers

In the quest to solve cancer's mysteries, they come in handy when describing tongue-twisting processes and pathways that somehow allow tumors to form and thrive. Two examples are ERK (extracellular-signal-related kinase) and JNK (c-June N-Terminal Kinase), enzymes that may offer unexpected solutions for treating some endometrial and colon cancers.

3 Oct 2014

PD-L1 protein could be a potential immunotherapy target for malignant pleural mesothelioma

Treating patients with high-dose radiotherapy after chemotherapy and surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma does not achieve improvements in local relapse and overall survival, according to data from a prospective randomized phase II trial presented at ESMO 2014 Congress in Madrid.

30 Sep 2014