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 roles for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in treating stroke

In a study appearing online on July 7 in advance of print publication of the August 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Armin Schneider and colleagues from Axaron Biosciences describe new roles for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in treating stroke and other central nervous system roles of this protein.

11 Jul 2005

Scientists discover how an HIV protein fragment shuts down an immune response

The HIV virus hides out in the very immune system cells that are meant to protect the body from viral infection. But how does it prevent these cells from mounting a full-scale attack against the invader?

11 Jul 2005

New approach to preventing or reversing heart failure

Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified a new protein that plays a critical role in enabling the heart to respond to such external stimuli as exercise or stress, as well as in the progressive loss of heart function that is heart failure, the researchers said.

11 Jul 2005

Blood pressure enzyme linked to SARS virus, could help fight diseases that cause lung failure

Researchers in Austria say that an enzyme that regulates blood pressure is also involved in the SARS virus, and the discovery could lead to new ways of treating diseases that cause lung failure.

11 Jul 2005

Researchers clarifiy role of Notch protein in T-cell development

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have recently clarified the role of the Notch protein in T-cell development. T cells are required for many aspects of immunity, including fighting viral infections, providing cancer surveillance, and regulating multiple aspects of the immune response.

6 Jul 2005

Researchers have discovered a key regulatory molecule for Huntington's disease

Researchers have discovered a key regulatory molecule whose overactivation by the abnormal protein produced in Huntington's disease (HD) causes the central pathologies of the disease.

6 Jul 2005

Point-of-selection nutrition information cards can spur students to pick the right foods

Mystery meat not withstanding, high school cafeterias can provide nutritional, balanced and healthful meals, but students have to choose correctly.

6 Jul 2005

Cancer cells may be able to avoid destruction by anti-vascular and anti-angiogenesis agents

Cancer cells may be able to avoid destruction by anti-vascular and anti-angiogenesis agents through a cellular stress response that activates a pro-survival protein called GRP78, according to researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

6 Jul 2005

HIF-1alpha expression regulates the bactericidal capacity of phagocytes

When microorganisms invade the body, immune mechanisms kick in to fight them off. The infected tissues typically show depleted oxygen levels, and a protein called HIF-1 alpha regulates this. Interestingly, the cells responsible for destroying the foreign pathogens are effective in this low-oxygen environment.

6 Jul 2005

University of Michigan receives $10m grant for Alzheimer's research

Alzheimer’s disease research at the University of Michigan is getting a $10 million boost: a major grant that will fund a broad array of efforts aimed at finding and fighting the causes of the disease and other memory conditions.

1 Jul 2005

Researchers find enzyme vital for controlling the early stages of cell death

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found an enzyme vital for controlling the early stages of cell death - a beneficial and normal process when it works right, but malignant in a variety of cancers when it malfunctions.

30 Jun 2005

Protein that was thought to simply turn genes on and off now looks to be more like a cellular dimmer switch

The scientists showed for the first time that when certain parts of a protein molecule are modified - flexible, randomly structured regions believed to be only minor players in the protein world - they become important in turning genes on and off, but in a way that resembles a dimmer switch rather than an on-off switch.

30 Jun 2005

Viagra's non-blood pressure effect successfully mimics vasopressin action

Normally your kidneys filter about 50 gallons of blood a day, remove such waste as salts and minerals, and concentrate it into urine. When you exercise or don't take in water, your blood "thickens" and instead of removing water, the kidney reverses the process, pulls in water from the body that would normally go into the urine, and puts it into the blood, thus maintaining water balance.

29 Jun 2005

A new method for manipulating macromolecules

The technique uses double-stranded DNA to direct the behavior of other molecules. In previous DNA nanotechnology efforts, duplex DNA has been used as a static lattice to construct geometrical objects in three dimensions.

29 Jun 2005

Research into a protein for treatment of cancer brings prestigious award

Although primarily known for its roles in obesity and reproduction, the protein leptin has been linked to breast cancer in a study which is the recipient of the prestigious Susan G. Komen Foundation award.

28 Jun 2005

Scientists have discovered how C-reactive protein is able to access endothelial cells

For the first time, scientists have discovered how C-reactive protein, or CRP, is able to access endothelial cells. The UC Davis researchers' findings will be published in the July issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, one of the American Heart Association's leading journals.

27 Jun 2005

Study causes big shift in how we think about p53 gene

The cellular cascade of molecular signals that instructs cells with fatally damaged DNA to self-destruct pivots on the p53 tumor suppressor gene. If p53 is inactivated, as it is in over half of all human cancers, checks and balances on cell growth fail to operate, and body cells start to accumulate mutations, which ultimately may lead to cancer.

27 Jun 2005

Scientists solve structure of a critical innate immune system protein

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the structure of a crucial human immune system molecule called TLR3, an acronym for Toll-like receptor three. In an upcoming issue of the journal Science, the protein is described as a large horseshoe-shaped coil composed of 23 leucine-rich repeats (LRRs).

27 Jun 2005

If you know how viruses get into cells, you know how to better design drugs to keep them out

When it comes to gaining entry into cells, size matters. A team from Brown University and the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research has created a model that explains how viruses and other bioparticles slip inside cells without a special protein coating called clathrin.

27 Jun 2005

Enzyme known as cathepsin G may be a target for anti-inflammatory treatments

The finding by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that an enzyme known as cathepsin G regulates the ability of immune cells known as neutrophils to secrete chemicals that attract other immune cells and start the local inflammatory process. Over time, the excessive accumulation of immune cells can lead to tissue and cartilage damage in joints, causing pain and limiting mobility.

27 Jun 2005