Kinase News and Research

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Discovery of method for clamping down on a cancer-promoting enzyme

There are many pathways that allow an errant gene to turn a cell cancerous, and a number of these pathways go through a single enzyme called the p21-activated kinase 1, or PAK1.

18 Apr 2008

Herceptin and chemotherapy improves response rates without major adverse effects in HER2 breast cancer

Women with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer seem to do better if they are treated with a combined anthracycline and taxane chemotherapy regimen before surgery, together with trastuzumab (Herceptin) before and after surgery, according to results from the largest multi-centre trial to investigate this treatment.

18 Apr 2008

New type of drug shrinks primary breast cancer tumours significantly in just six weeks

A drug that targets the cell surface receptors that play an important role in many types of cancer can bring about significant tumour regression in breast cancer after only six weeks of use, a scientist told the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) (Thursday 17 April).

17 Apr 2008

Treatment with sunitinib slows tumor growth and spread of liver cancer

Treatment with sunitinib slows tumor growth and reduces the risk of metastasis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, an aggressive cancer of the liver, researchers report.

15 Apr 2008

Stopping unwanted cell death: novel avenue for drug development

Research published in Nature Chemical Biology reveals that three specific inhibitors of a cell death pathway, termed necroptosis, all target and inhibit RIP1 kinase, a protein that can direct cells into necrosis.

13 Apr 2008

Researcher discovers pathway plants use to fight back against pathogens

Plants are not only smart, but they also wage a good fight, according to a University of Missouri biochemist. Previous studies have shown that plants can sense attacks by pathogens and activate their defenses.

1 Apr 2008

Compound found in soybeans may halt spread of prostate cancer

A compound found in soybeans almost completely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

17 Mar 2008

How diabetes drives atherosclerosis

Researchers have discovered how diabetes, by driving inflammation and slowing blood flow, dramatically accelerates atherosclerosis, according to research to be published in the March 14 edition of the journal Circulation Research. Experts once believed that atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, developed when too much cholesterol clogged arteries with fatty deposits called plaques.

14 Mar 2008

Study explains fundamental process of tumor growth

Nearly 80 years ago, scientist Otto Warburg observed that cancer cells perform energy metabolism in a way that is different from normal adult cells.

14 Mar 2008

Study helps explain how tumor cells rapidly grow and proliferate

Nearly 80 years ago, scientist Otto Warburg observed that cancer cells perform energy metabolism in a way that is different from normal adult cells.

13 Mar 2008

Protein deficiency leads to faster fat burning in mice, study shows

Researchers have developed a new, lean mouse with characteristics suggesting that someday, using medication to manipulate a specific protein in humans could emerge as a strategy to treat obesity and disorders associated with excess weight, such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

13 Mar 2008

Tamoxifen may help treat mania in patients with bipolar disorder

A small, three-week trial of tamoxifen, a drug typically used to treat breast cancer, indicates that it also may decrease symptoms of mania in patients with bipolar disorder, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Mar 2008

Atypical protein kinase C stabilizes SRC-3 levels in breast cancer cells

A new study provides valuable insight into a previously undescribed mechanism that regulates a prominent cancer-associated protein.

28 Feb 2008

High zinc status in lung cells slows growth and induces DNA

Researchers at the University of Maryland at College Park have discovered that Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial (NHBE) cells cultured in medium with elevated zinc level, at the high end of plasma zinc attainable by oral supplementation, demonstrated inhibition of cell growth, up-regulation of growth arrest and DNA damage-induced gene (Gadd45) mRNA and protein expression, and blockage of G2/M cell cycle progression.

26 Feb 2008

ImClone Systems enrols first patient in clinical trial of IMC-1121B to treat liver cancer

ImClone Systems Incorporated has announced that it has enrolled the first patient in a disease-directed Phase II clinical trial of IMC-1121B to treat patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer).

26 Feb 2008

Newly discovered ERK pathway proteins related to CagA induced disease

Cytotoxin-associated gene A protein (CagA) from type I H.pylori has been proved by epidemiological and experimental studies to be closely associated with the H.pylori induced gastric diseases, especially gastric cancer.

25 Feb 2008

Gene therapy - immune system discovery may lead to effective treatment for glioblastoma multiforme

A new gene therapy approach that attracts and "trains" immune system cells to destroy deadly brain cancer cells also provides long-term immunity, produces no significant adverse effects and -- in the process of destroying the tumor -- promotes the return of normal brain function and behavioral skills, according to a study conducted by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute.

20 Feb 2008

Oncoproteins double-team and destroy vital tumor-suppressor

Two previously unconnected cancer-promoting proteins team up to ambush a critical tumor suppressor by evicting it from the cell's nucleus and then marking it for death by a protein-shredding mechanism, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Feb. 10 issue of Nature Cell Biology.

17 Feb 2008

Novel drug shows promise in limiting heart attack damage

A novel drug designed to lessen muscle damage from a heart attack has passed initial safety tests at the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

8 Feb 2008

MIT applies engineering approach to studying biological pathways

An MIT team has used an engineering approach to show that complex biological systems can be studied with simple models developed by measuring what goes into and out of the system.

7 Feb 2008