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.

New method of testing for West Nile virus

While the United States has largely been spared the scourge of mosquito-borne diseases endemic to the developing world-including yellow fever, malaria and dengue fever-mosquito-related illnesses in the US are on the rise. One pathogen of increasing concern in the U.S. is an arbovirus known as West Nile.

24 Oct 2012

Pleiotrophin protein may be long-sought growth factor for blood stem cells

Duke Medicine researchers studying the interaction of blood stem cells and the niche where they reside have identified a protein that may be a long-sought growth factor for blood stem cells.

24 Oct 2012

UNM Cancer Center scientist to continue histone modification study

While every one of our cells contains all of our genetic information, each type of cell uses only specific parts of that information to make its proteins. Uncovering more about the mechanism that directs which particular pieces of genetic information the cell uses is the research focus of Mary Ann Osley, PhD, University of New Mexico Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Co-Leader of the Cancer Biology and Biotechnology Program at the UNM Cancer Center.

24 Oct 2012

Pfizer Hemophilia donates more than 35M IUs of recombinant factor IX therapy to WFH

Pfizer Hemophilia is donating more than 35 million IUs of its recombinant factor IX therapy to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) to help hemophilia B patients in underserved regions of the world.

24 Oct 2012

Study still implicates amyloid beta in causing Alzheimer's dementia

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a key difference in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease and those who are cognitively normal but still have brain plaques that characterize this type of dementia.

23 Oct 2012

KIF3A protein ferries HIV to the plasma membrane

A study in The Journal of Cell Biology identifies a motor protein that ferries HIV to the plasma membrane, helping the virus escape from macrophages.

23 Oct 2012

Genzyme, Alnylam partner to develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics against ATTR

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today that they have formed an exclusive alliance to develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR) in Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries.

23 Oct 2012

Austrian researchers receive $7.4 million award to verify new breast cancer pathways

The innovator's award recognises Josef Penninger's work in identifying a key molecular pathway how hormone replacement therapies and contraceptive pills can lead to breast cancer. His team provided the first genetic proof that a protein called RANKL is the master regulator of bone loss, which has contributed to the development of a novel drug already approved for the treatment of osteoporosis and skeletal related events in multiple cancers.

23 Oct 2012

Study looks at DNA sequences for receptors in T lymphocytes

Our immune system must be tremendously complex to respond to the unending assault of viruses, bacteria and cancerous cells. One of the mechanisms used by the immune system to cope with the huge variety of possible threats is to randomly combine DNA segments for the production of receptors on lymphocytes - a type of white blood cell.

23 Oct 2012

Researchers discover how HIV-infected people develop very powerful antibody responses

Wits researchers have played a pivotal role in an AIDS study published today in the journal, Nature Medicine, which describes how a unique change in the outer covering of the virus found in two HIV infected South African women enabled them to make potent antibodies which are able to kill up to 88% of HIV types from around the world.

23 Oct 2012

Possible overlap exists between inflammatory bowel disease and IBS

Research unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas suggests a possible overlap of symptoms of two prevalent GI disorders: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and further suggests a possible link between subtle GI tract inflammation and IBS symptoms-a link that is also the focus of the first systemic review of the literature on this topic and an editorial both published in this month's American Journal of Gastroenterology.

23 Oct 2012

Breast cancer spread dependent on both environment and genetic changes

A new study from Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that the lethal spread of breast cancer is as dependent on a tumor’s protein-rich environment as on genetic changes inside tumor cells.

23 Oct 2012

Glioblastoma multiforme can originate from cortical neurons

Scientists have long believed that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of primary brain tumor, begins in glial cells that make up supportive tissue in the brain or in neural stem cells. In a paper published October 18 in Science Express, however, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that the tumors can originate from other types of differentiated cells in the nervous system, including cortical neurons.

23 Oct 2012

CAMH scientists identify potential new approach to prevent smoking relapse

Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential new approach to preventing smoking relapse, which occurs frequently in smokers who attempt to quit, despite current treatments.

23 Oct 2012

Sanofi presents overview of Phase II and III trials for quadrivalent influenza vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, presented today an overview of Phase II and Phase III clinical trials for its investigational quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV).

23 Oct 2012

CSF biomarkers can differentiate patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson disease

Analysis of specific biomarkers in a cerebrospinal fluid sample can differentiate patients with Alzheimer's disease from those with other types of dementia. The method, which is being studied by researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, may eventually permit earlier detection of Alzheimer's disease.

23 Oct 2012

Thiol peroxidase involved in S. pneumoniae defenses

The Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria defends itself from high levels of hydrogen peroxide with the help of thiol peroxidase, research shows.

22 Oct 2012

New approach to prevention of breast cancer wins $7.4M award

A new approach to possible future prevention of breast cancer and slowing the spread of tumours has won Austrian researcher Josef Penninger, director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA) in Vienna, a $7.4 million innovator's award to continue his research, from the USA's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.

22 Oct 2012

Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers may help early detection of Alzheimer´S Disease

22 Oct 2012

Insight into calcium pumps in cells

When animals and plants are exposed to influences such as bacterial attack, odour and cold, calcium ions flow into the cells. The calcium provides the cells with a signal about what is going on outside, but as high concentrations of calcium are toxic to the cells, it must be quickly pumped out again.

22 Oct 2012