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.

Ondansetron shown to be a viable treatment option for opioid addiction

Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that a commonly available non-addictive drug can prevent symptoms of withdrawal from opioids with little likelihood of serious side effects.

18 Feb 2009

GABAergic system shows promise as molecular target for liver cancer therapy

Although GABA and GABA receptors function as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mature CNS, abnormal levels of gene and protein expression of some GABA receptor subunits have been detected in many malignant tumors, such as ð subunit in pancreatic cancer.

18 Feb 2009

Forgotten and lost -- when proteins 'shut down' our brain

Which modules of the tau protein, in neurons of Alzheimer disease patients, may act in a destructive manner were investigated by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) and the Max Planck Unit for Structural Molecular Biology (Hamburg) with the help of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ( PLoS Biology , February 17, 2009).

18 Feb 2009

Newly discovered mutation can hold the key to treat a large number of different cancers

Scientists have discovered a mutation responsible for cancer progression, a finding with potential implications for the development of treatment against not one, but a series of cancer types since this mutation can be linked to an abnormality recently discovered to exist in all malignancies.

18 Feb 2009

VAP cholesterol test helps find link between a rare gene mutation and heart protection

Using the VAP Cholesterol Test from Atherotech, Inc., University of Maryland researchers have found an association between a rare gene mutation and heart protection.

17 Feb 2009

Targeting the protein AEG1 impairs human liver cancer growth in mice

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive form of liver cancer and one of the 5 most common cancers worldwide.

17 Feb 2009

New nationwide Alzheimer's study underway

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are preparing to begin a clinical trial aimed at testing an investigational new drug that may help control the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

17 Feb 2009

Faster detection of viruses with nanodevices

A more specific and faster detection of viruses has been identified in new research by Trinity College Dublin's Professor of Physics, Martin Hegner at Trinity College's Centre of Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and an international team of researchers.

17 Feb 2009

New software speeds enzyme design

A Duke University-led team has brought powerful software to the never-ending arms race between antibiotics and germs.

16 Feb 2009

Dendritic cells as a new player in arteries and heart valves

In 1973, Ralph M. Steinman launched a new scientific discipline when he published his discovery of the dendritic cell, an odd-shaped player in the immune system.

16 Feb 2009

New understanding on how Myc gene promotes cancer

Cancer cells need a lot of nutrients to multiply and survive. While much is understood about how cancer cells use blood sugar to make energy, not much is known about how they get other nutrients.

16 Feb 2009

Radioimmunotherapy shows promise for HIV infection and viral cancers

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have piggybacked antibodies onto radioactive payloads to deliver doses of radiation that selectively target and destroy microbial and HIV-infected cells.

16 Feb 2009

Molecules self-assemble to provide new therapeutic treatments

Researchers in the laboratory of Samuel I. Stupp at Northwestern University have an interesting approach for tackling some major health problems: gather raw materials and then let them self-assemble into structures that can address a multitude of medical needs.

16 Feb 2009

New device decreases wait times for patients needing immunotherapy

Researchers from the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have created a device that significantly decreases the time needed to produce genetically manipulated T cells in preclinical tests for leukemia.

16 Feb 2009

Avosentan shows prmoise for diabetic kidney disease

A new drug called avosentan significantly lowers urinary protein excretion-an important marker of kidney disease progression-in patients with diabetic kidney disease, according to an international clinical trial appearing in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

16 Feb 2009