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.

Merlin protein controls adult cell activity to cause liver cancer

A protein known to be involved in a rare hereditary cancer syndrome may have a role in the regulation of liver stem cells and the development of liver cancer. In the August 15 issue of Genes & Development, a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team describes finding that the protein called merlin, encoded by the NF2 (neurofibromatosis type 2) gene, controls the activity of adult stem cells that give rise to the two major types of liver cells.

13 Aug 2010

Research identifies intracellular mechanism for altering blood vessels permeability for tumours treatment

Dr. Jean-Philippe Gratton, Director of the Endothelial cell biology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM), identifies a new intracellular mechanism responsible for modulating vascular permeability: the nitrosylation of beta-catenin protein by nitric oxide. This scientific breakthrough could have a possible impact on the treatment of cancerous tumours by altering the permeability of the blood vessels irrigating them. Dr. Gratton's team will publish the results of its research tomorrow in the scientific journal Molecular Cell.

13 Aug 2010

Emergent BioSolutions enters agreement to acquire Trubion Pharmaceuticals

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for upfront consideration of $96.8 million of value and up to $38.7 million of success-based milestones, resulting in a total consideration of up to $135.5 million. The acquisition will diversify Emergent's product development pipeline with the addition of Trubion's two clinical-stage product candidates focused on the targeted disease areas of oncology and autoimmunity.

13 Aug 2010

OriGene Technologies announces acquisition of Blue Heron Biotechnology

OriGene Technologies, Inc., a gene-centric life sciences company, announces the acquisition of Blue Heron Biotechnology, a pioneer in the gene synthesis business since 1999.

13 Aug 2010

Amorfix first-quarter fiscal 2011 net loss from operations increases to $1,724,745

Amorfix Life Sciences, a product development company focused on misfolded protein diseases, today announced its operational and financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2010.

12 Aug 2010

FDA grants BioMimetic Therapeutics orphan drug designation for rhPDGF-BB in treatment of OCD

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has received orphan drug designation from the Food and Drug Administration for its protein therapeutic, recombinant human platelet derived growth factor, to be used in conjunction with autograft and/or commercially available osteochondral allograft for the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the knee, elbow or ankle.

12 Aug 2010

BioPharm Asia subsidiary acquires all outstanding equity interests of TBWF

BioPharm Asia, Inc. announced today that on August 7, 2010, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tonghua Huachen Herbal Planting Company Limited, acquired all of the outstanding equity interests in Tonghua Tianbao Wood Frog Cultivation Limited Company for a purchase price of $4,000,000.

12 Aug 2010

ALLOZYNE signs worldwide, co-exclusive licensing agreement with Sigma-Aldrich

ALLOZYNE Inc. announced today the signing of a worldwide, co-exclusive licensing agreement with Sigma-Aldrich giving ALLOZYNE a license for the use of cycloaddition chemistry in the development of therapeutics and diagnostics. Sigma-Aldrich currently holds broad, worldwide intellectual property for the use of cycloaddition chemistry to conjugate biomolecules.

12 Aug 2010

Researchers suggest Hsp70 can reverse Diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Researchers have been able to use a common chaperone protein, Hsp70, to reverse the loss of function in the nerves of mice with diabetes.Writing in ASN NEURO, Michael J. Urban and colleagues at the University of Kansas suggest that Hsp70 could be used in the future to cure the loss of feeling in the limbs that afflicts many diabetics.

12 Aug 2010

Research identifies abnormal huntingtin protein critical for mitosis and cell fate determination

New research finds that a protein that is often mutated in Huntington's disease (HD) plays an unexpected role in the process of neurogenesis. The research, published by Cell Press in the August 12 issue of the journal Neuron, provides new insight into HD pathology and has even broader implications for human health and disease.

12 Aug 2010

University of Maryland receives grant from NCRR to acquire superconducting NMR spectrometer

The University of Maryland, in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and University of Maryland Baltimore County, has received a $7.9 million federal grant to acquire a superconducting 950 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) magnet that will help researchers unravel the mysteries of molecules and develop new agents to treat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

12 Aug 2010

Scientists find therapeutic potential of stem cells for acute lung injury

Researchers are reporting this week new study results they say provide further evidence of the therapeutic potential of stem cells derived from bone marrow for patients suffering from acute lung injury, one of the most common causes of respiratory failure in intensive care units.

12 Aug 2010

HemaQuest commences HQK-1004 global Phase 2 clinical trial in EBV-related malignancies

HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has initiated the Company's Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating its proprietary HQK-1004 therapy for the treatment of lymphomas and related cancers associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. These EBV-related cancers have poor prognoses and short patient survival. Currently available cancer therapies are typically much less effective in patients with EBV-related lymphoid malignancies than in patients who have similar cancers not infected with the virus.

11 Aug 2010

Medicago USA awarded $21M to develop vaccine facility in Research Triangle Park

Medicago USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Medicago Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing highly effective and affordable vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles, today announced that it has been awarded a $21 Million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Broad Agency Announcement, Defense Sciences Research & Technology to demonstrate the scalable manufacturing of its plant-expressed VLP vaccines in the U.S.A. under a Technology Investment Agreement.

11 Aug 2010

NKTreg white blood cells migrate into liver, suppress immune responses: Research

After a transplant - and to assure that the new organ is not rejected - patients are put on life-long therapy to suppress their immune system, which, nevertheless, needs to be left intact enough to be able to defend the body against all kinds of disease. A tricky balance as the many rejected organs attest. But a discovery by Maria Monteiro and Luis Graça, two Portuguese scientists, could change all this, at least for the liver.

11 Aug 2010

Dr. Hastings receives grant for Spinal Muscular Atrophy research

Michelle Hastings, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, in the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, has been awarded a five-year $1.68 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support her research aimed at investigating treatments for the fatal children's disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

11 Aug 2010

Protagen granted Notice of Allowance in Japan for key method patent for identifying and selecting clones

Protagen AG, a specialist for in-vitro diagnostics and GMP-compliant protein analysis, announced today that it received a Notice of Allowance by the Japanese Patent Office stating a favourable decision for the patent application 2000-547262 developed at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany. This patent claims broadly a method for identifying and selecting clones relating to the basic UNIclone® technology and is already granted in Europe with the publication number EP1073770 B1.

11 Aug 2010

Ancient immunoglobulin study explains evolution of human intestinal immune responses

A study at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has identified the function of one of the earliest antibodies in the animal kingdom, an ancient immunoglobulin that helps explain the evolution of human intestinal immune responses. It was discovered to play a predominant role in the guts of fish and paves the way for a better understanding of human gut immunity as well as for safer, healthier approaches to keeping fish from pathogen infections. The findings appear in the online version of Nature Immunology and will be featured on the cover of the September issue.

11 Aug 2010

New findings identify mGlu2/3 receptors as a promising treatment target for cocaine addicts

Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, which has been implicated in drug addiction. Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) represent a family of G-protein coupled receptors that modulate glutamate transmission. Glutamate is an important neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory. Today, these receptors are considered to be promising targets for drug discovery, with therapeutic potential to treat various neurological and psychiatric disorders, including drug addiction.

11 Aug 2010

Common soluble proteins become insoluble and form aggregates while aging: Study

In neurodegenerative diseases, clumps of insoluble proteins appear in patients' brains. These aggregates contain proteins that are unique to each disease, such as amyloid beta in Alzheimer's disease, but they are intertwined with small amounts of many other insoluble proteins that are normally present in a soluble form in healthy young individuals. For years, these other proteins were thought to be accidental inclusions in the aggregates, much as a sea turtle might be caught in a net of fish.Now, in a surprising new finding, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, report that many of the proteins present as minor components of disease aggregates actually clump together as a normal part of aging in healthy individuals.

11 Aug 2010

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Merlin protein controls adult cell activity to cause liver cancer

Research identifies intracellular mechanism for altering blood vessels permeability for tumours treatment

Emergent BioSolutions enters agreement to acquire Trubion Pharmaceuticals

OriGene Technologies announces acquisition of Blue Heron Biotechnology

Amorfix first-quarter fiscal 2011 net loss from operations increases to $1,724,745

FDA grants BioMimetic Therapeutics orphan drug designation for rhPDGF-BB in treatment of OCD

BioPharm Asia subsidiary acquires all outstanding equity interests of TBWF

ALLOZYNE signs worldwide, co-exclusive licensing agreement with Sigma-Aldrich

Researchers suggest Hsp70 can reverse Diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Research identifies abnormal huntingtin protein critical for mitosis and cell fate determination

University of Maryland receives grant from NCRR to acquire superconducting NMR spectrometer

Scientists find therapeutic potential of stem cells for acute lung injury

HemaQuest commences HQK-1004 global Phase 2 clinical trial in EBV-related malignancies

Medicago USA awarded $21M to develop vaccine facility in Research Triangle Park

NKTreg white blood cells migrate into liver, suppress immune responses: Research

Dr. Hastings receives grant for Spinal Muscular Atrophy research

Protagen granted Notice of Allowance in Japan for key method patent for identifying and selecting clones

Ancient immunoglobulin study explains evolution of human intestinal immune responses

New findings identify mGlu2/3 receptors as a promising treatment target for cocaine addicts

Common soluble proteins become insoluble and form aggregates while aging: Study

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