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 insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction

Scientists from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of Vermont have captured the first 3-dimensional (3D) atomic-resolution images of the motor protein myosin V as it "walks" along other proteins, revealing new structural insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction.

3 Oct 2005

Potential beneficial effect of copper orotate

As one of the services for patients with Alzheimer's disease, the Department of Psychiatry at the Saarland University Medical Center offers participation in a clinical phase II trial. This clinical trial aims to elucidate a potential beneficial effect of copper orotate (an organic copper salt), which is given together with a standard cholinesterase inhibitor.

3 Oct 2005

Scientists measure with unprecedented accuracy the strengths of hydrogen bonds in a protein

The scientists were then able to predict the function of different versions of the protein based on structural information, a novel outcome that was published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

3 Oct 2005

Ubiquitin ligase Rnf6 may be involved in oncogenesis

In a recent study, Dr. Ingolf Bach and colleagues from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester and the University of Hamburg describe a novel role for the ubiquitin/proteosome protein degradation pathway in the regulation of local actin dynamics in neurons.

3 Oct 2005

Lab-made version of a human protein opens a new research avenue to better understand rheumatoid arthritis

A lab-made version of a human protein alleviates symptoms of both acute and chronic arthritis in mice and could be the basis for a new arthritis drug for people, report scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

3 Oct 2005

Discovery establishes a role for the gene Rsf-1 in ovarian cancer

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have linked alterations in a gene, called Rsf-1, to the most deadly ovarian cancers. The scientists say the discovery is the first to establish a role for the gene in ovarian cancer and may lead to a test that can predict, early on, which patients will develop aggressive disease.

3 Oct 2005

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Mitochondrial complex I deficiency is one of the most common defects in patients with mitochondrial disease. The deficiency results from a failure to assemble the enzyme properly, but the nature of the molecular chaperones that are necessary for this process in mammals have remained obscure.

3 Oct 2005

Research may help create drugs to target the molecule-binding pathway, beneficial for treating arthritis and reducing inflammation

The first close-up look at a pro-inflammatory signaling molecule involved in immune response in mammals suggests that researchers "should rethink what they are doing" in creating drugs based on a fruit-fly model, scientists say.

3 Oct 2005

Flaviviruses immune system defenses in different ways depending on whether they are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks

"Flaviviruses exact an enormous toll in terms of illness and death worldwide," notes NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "Because this is a relatively new field of study, everything we learn about how these viruses operate is significant.

28 Sep 2005

C-reactive protein in atherosclerotic lesions: its origin and pathophysiological significance

New research shows that levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), produced by the liver and not at the lesion site, correlate with the degree of atherosclerosis.

28 Sep 2005

Dengue and other viruses may have developed tricks that let them reproduce inside macrophages

A monoclonal antibody that can effectively treat mice infected with West Nile virus has an intriguing secret: Contrary to scientists' expectations, it does not block the virus's ability to attach to host cells. Instead, the antibody somehow stops the infectious process at a later point.

28 Sep 2005

Discovery may lead to development of more effective antibiotics

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom have uncovered a mechanism with which disease-causing bacteria may thwart the body's natural defense responses. The findings, which could ultimately lead to the development of more effective antibiotics, appear in the September 29, 2005 issue of the journal Nature.

28 Sep 2005

New Stat1 and interferon findings

By altering a molecule called Stat1, which is involved in cellular immune signaling, scientists have succeeded in making the molecule more responsive and thus more efficient. This old protein with a new twist may eventually be used to improve the body's defense against infection.

28 Sep 2005

Discovered of gene mutations associated with hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy

In a significant advance toward understanding a perplexing and painful neurological disorder, an international team of researchers has discovered gene mutations associated with an inherited chronic pain and weakness syndrome known as hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy (also called HNA).

27 Sep 2005

Possibility of tailored treatments for addiction based on how a person's genes behave

Scientists have learned how a genetic variation long suspected in making some people susceptible to alcoholism and narcotic drug addiction actually does so.

27 Sep 2005

Pursuit of potential drugs and small molecules that target the IGF-1 receptor

Pharmaceutical companies around the world still come knocking on Renato Baserga, M.D.,'s door. And for good reason.

27 Sep 2005

Cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, can cure mice with breast tumors

A team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that by using a cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, they can cure mice with established breast tumors. Cancer vaccines, which are more properly described as immunotherapy, work by boosting an immune response against tumor-associated antigens.

27 Sep 2005

Farnesyl transferase inhibitors may help chidren with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a drug currently being tested against cancers might help children with a rare, fatal condition called Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, which causes rapid, premature aging.

27 Sep 2005

Computer program helps explain how the same proteins can play different roles in a wide range of cellular processes

University of California, San Diego biochemists have developed a computer program that helps explain a long-standing mystery: how the same proteins can play different roles in a wide range of cellular processes, including those leading to immune responses and cancer.

27 Sep 2005

Gene responsible for Neuralgic Amyotrophy identified

Neuralgic Amyotrophy is a painful disorder of the peripheral nervous system. This heritable disease causes prolonged acute attacks of pain in the shoulder or arm, followed by temporary paralysis.

27 Sep 2005

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

New insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction

Potential beneficial effect of copper orotate

Scientists measure with unprecedented accuracy the strengths of hydrogen bonds in a protein

Ubiquitin ligase Rnf6 may be involved in oncogenesis

Lab-made version of a human protein opens a new research avenue to better understand rheumatoid arthritis

Discovery establishes a role for the gene Rsf-1 in ovarian cancer

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Research may help create drugs to target the molecule-binding pathway, beneficial for treating arthritis and reducing inflammation

Flaviviruses immune system defenses in different ways depending on whether they are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks

C-reactive protein in atherosclerotic lesions: its origin and pathophysiological significance

Dengue and other viruses may have developed tricks that let them reproduce inside macrophages

Discovery may lead to development of more effective antibiotics

New Stat1 and interferon findings

Discovered of gene mutations associated with hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy

Possibility of tailored treatments for addiction based on how a person's genes behave

Pursuit of potential drugs and small molecules that target the IGF-1 receptor

Cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, can cure mice with breast tumors

Farnesyl transferase inhibitors may help chidren with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome

Computer program helps explain how the same proteins can play different roles in a wide range of cellular processes

Gene responsible for Neuralgic Amyotrophy identified

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