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.

A regulatory role for the C5a anaphylatoxin in type 2 immunity in asthma

Asthma rates are rapidly increasing, particularly in children. Although asthma is mediated in part by activation of special immune cells called Th2 cells, the precise causes are unclear.

7 Mar 2006

Factor B and H genes found to play role in the development of age-related macular degeneration

A new study, led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, pinpoints the role that two genes - Factor H and Factor B - play in the development of nearly three out of four cases of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a devastating eye disease that affects more than 10 million people in the United States.

7 Mar 2006

Genetic background to ravages of obesity

Why do some overweight people stay healthy (apart from possible musculo-skeletal disorders) while obesity in other individuals leads to complications like diabetes and cardiovascular disease?

6 Mar 2006

New test from Biomarker Technologies assists in early detection for Breast Cancer

Phoenix-based Biomarker Technologies announced the launch of a clinical study for its revolutionary blood test that detects breast cancer. Previous clinical studies have shown the test to significantly exceed the accuracy of mammograms.

6 Mar 2006

C-reactive protein helps identify progressive precancerous lesions in the lung

C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker for inflammation in the blood, can help to identify individuals whose abnormal precancerous lesions will advance closer to invasive lung cancer.

1 Mar 2006

Bone marrow stem cells do not improve cardiac function in heart attack patients

There has been increasing evidence that stem cells contribute to regeneration of cardiac tissue and the development of new blood vessels following a heart attack, thus opening up new prospects for stem-cell based therapies.

1 Mar 2006

Ancient DNA helps unearth potential hemophilia therapy

A cut can be life-threatening for people with hemophilia, whose bodies don't produce enough of a protein that prevents prolonged bleeding.

1 Mar 2006

Night blindness is a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease

"This is a new observation, a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease," said Levin, head of the Laboratory of the Molecular Biology of Chagas Disease at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Levin and colleagues report their findings in the March 2006, issue of the FASEB Journal.

1 Mar 2006

Analysis of protein interactions dispels old notions of what's important about them

Discoveries made during the first large-scale analysis of interactions between proteins in our cells hold promise for identifying new genes involved in genetic diseases, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB) in Bangalore.

27 Feb 2006

Ginkgo biloba reduces aggressive cancer risk in animal experiments

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say they now have a clearer picture of how an extract from the leaves of the Ginkgo biloba tree reduces the risk of aggressive cancer in animal experiments.

27 Feb 2006

Why people of African descent are more vulnerable to tuberculosis infection

A team of scientists has identified a cellular mechanism that may help explain the puzzle of why people of African descent are more susceptible to tuberculosis infection and why, once infected, they develop more severe states of the disease than whites.

27 Feb 2006

New generation gold-based drugs for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Gold compounds have been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases for more than 75 years, but until now, how the metals work has been a mystery.

27 Feb 2006

$1 million of mesothelioma research funding

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) has announced awards of almost $1 million in additional research funding aimed at curing mesothelioma.

24 Feb 2006

Study provides new evidence of the importance of reward pathways in the brain

Deleting a specific gene in the brain has the same effect that antidepressants do in mice that have been conditioned to be depressed, report researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

24 Feb 2006

SRY protein explains why men more likely to develop Parkinson's

Scientists at Prince Henry's Institute, Melbourne, and the University of California, Los Angeles, have discovered that SRY, the male protein that forms the testes is also produced in the brain region affected in Parkinson's disease.

24 Feb 2006

Selective T cell stimulation could help improve treatment of autoimmune disease and cancer

The findings could also be significant for developing new ways to help patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or juvenile diabetes.

23 Feb 2006

Avastin trial for pancreatic tumors

"Our findings from the previous study suggest that the combination of chemotherapy and radiation is a safe and effective treatment method to reduce the local extent of pancreatic tumors," said Dr. Talamonti.

23 Feb 2006

New molecular target for potential drugs to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome

Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have identified a molecular target, or receptor, for potential drugs to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a sudden and life-threatening failure of the lung.

23 Feb 2006

Discovery of molecule that may hold key to learning and memory

Independent research teams from Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston have identified a master protein that sheds light on one of neurobiology's biggest mysteries--how neurons change as a result of individual experiences.

23 Feb 2006