Chemokine News and Research

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Chemokines are a family of small cytokines, or proteins secreted by cells. Proteins are classified as chemokines according to shared structural characteristics such as small size (they are all approximately 8-10 kilodaltons in size), and the presence of four cysteine residues in conserved locations that are key to forming their 3-dimensional shape.

Odontoblast cells are part of immune system, protect teeth from decay: New research

It is known that teeth can protect themselves, to some extent, from attack by bacteria but that inflammation within a tooth can be damaging and, in extreme cases, lead to abscess or death of the tooth. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Immunology shows that odontoblast cells are part of the immune system and fight to protect teeth from decay.

23 Jan 2011

New way to halt lung inflammation

Acute inflammation of the lung is a poorly recognized human disease that develops in surprising and unexpected ways. The acute lung injury (ALI) or adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a vital new concern for soldiers, but it can develop in anyone during a systemic infection, after severe trauma, as a result of bone fracture, following severe burns and in many other ways as well-- the initial cause may have nothing apparent to do with the lung itself.

18 Jan 2011

T.A. Sciences receives US patent for TA-65 to tackle aging process

Telomerase Activation Sciences, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,846,904 to the Geron Corporation. The patent covers the use of certain compounds to upregulate telomerase expression in cells.

14 Jan 2011

GSK, ChemoCentryx initiate '786 Phase III clinical trial for Crohn's disease

GlaxoSmithKline and ChemoCentryx, announced today that the first patient with Crohn's disease has initiated treatment in the initial pivotal induction study comparing Traficet-EN, now designated GSK1605786 ('786), to placebo.

12 Jan 2011

Scientists identify prognostic biomarker to treat patients with HCV

Scientists at Inserm and Institut Pasteur have performed biomarker discovery on patients being treated for chronic hepatitis C infection. Their work, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrates that the plasma levels of the protein IP-10 predict, prior to treatment initiation, the efficacy of treatment with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin.

6 Jan 2011

MCP-1 protein may contribute to failure of AV fistulas created for vascular access in dialysis patients

A protein implicated in the development of vascular diseases may also contribute to the failure of arteriovenous (AV) fistulas created for vascular access in dialysis patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

23 Dec 2010

Anchor Therapeutics announces publication describing pepducin technology as novel approach to target GPCR

Anchor Therapeutics today announced the publication of new research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. The paper describes the identification and characterization of a pepducin-based allosteric agonist that targets CXCR4, a chemokine G protein-coupled receptor found on hematopoietic stem cells and other bone marrow-derived cells.

9 Dec 2010

ImmunGene awarded $244,479 therapeutic discovery project grant under PPACA 2010

ImmunGene, Inc., a privately held drug development company focused on targeted antibody therapeutics with numerous anti-cancer functions built into a single therapy, announced today that it has received a $244,479 grant under The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). The grant was related to the development of ImmunGene's technology which is based on antibody-cytokine fusions that have demonstrated targeted toxicity and added tumor benefits.

22 Nov 2010

SANUWAVE third quarter revenues increase to $278,000

SANUWAVE Health, Inc., an emerging medical technology company focused on regenerative medicine, today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and provided a business update.

12 Nov 2010

Idera presents data on TLR 3 agonist as vaccine adjuvants at Immunological Meeting

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced a presentation describing the chemistry and immunological activity of its proprietary Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) 3 agonist compounds and the use of these compounds as vaccine adjuvants in a preclinical model.

30 Oct 2010

LRI's innovative discovery to predict lupus receives license for clinical laboratory development

A discovery made by Lupus Research Institute-funded investigator Emily Baechler Gillespie, PhD, at the University of Minnesota has been licensed to a major clinical laboratory for development and could soon result in a test that quickly and easily enables patients and their physicians to determine when a lupus flare is imminent.

29 Oct 2010

ChemoCentryx reports one-year study results of Traficet-EN in Crohn's disease patients

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that it reported one-year results from the Company's PROTECT-1 Study (the Prospective Randomized Oral Therapy Evaluation in Crohn's disease Trial) of Traficet-EN™ (CCX282-B) in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease. Traficet-EN, an orally bioavailable CCR9-specific chemokine receptor antagonist showed clinical efficacy in a 12-week Induction period, as well as a 36-week Maintenance period.

28 Oct 2010

Jefferson researchers progress in understanding mechanism behind systemic fibrotic disorder

Scientists from the Jefferson Institute of Molecular Medicine of Thomas Jefferson University are now several steps closer to understanding the mechanism behind a novel systemic fibrotic disorder that affects some patients with renal insufficiency who receive imaging contrast agents for MRI. Two of their studies on the disorder appear together in the November issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.

20 Oct 2010

HCMV infection may help promote intestinal cancer

More than 50% of adults in the United States test positive for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. For most people, infection produces no symptoms and results in the virus persisting in the body for a long time. HCMV infects many cell types in the body including the cells that line the intestines (IECs).

12 Oct 2010

Biologists determine three-dimensional structure of molecule involved in HIV, cancer

In a technical tour de force, structural biologists funded by the National Institutes of Health have determined the three-dimensional structure of a molecule involved in HIV infection and in many forms of cancer. The high-resolution structure sheds light on how the molecule functions and could point to ways to control its activity, potentially locking out HIV and stalling cancer's spread.

8 Oct 2010

Microglial inflammation promotes MAPT pathologies

Cells that help to protect the central nervous system may also contribute to pathological changes in the brain. New research, published by Cell Press in the October 7th issue of the journal Neuron, provides mechanistic insight into a link between the immune system and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease that are associated with abnormal accumulation of tau protein.

7 Oct 2010

American Cancer Society awards 94 national research, training grants to 70 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 national research and training grants totaling $46,633,000 to 70 institutions nationwide in the first of two grants cycles for 2011.

7 Oct 2010

HIV infection mystery revealed

In a new discovery, Melbourne researchers have found a mechanism by which the HIV virus can affect people. According to co-head of the Burnet Institute's Centre for Virology, Sharon Lewin, scientists have found out how HIV entered a group of cells in which the virus tends to persist in spite of antiviral treatment that reduces the virus to undetectable levels.

22 Sep 2010

ChemoCentryx presents CCX140 clinical data at EASD

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that it reported positive preclinical and Phase I study results at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). CCX140, a novel, orally bioavailable small molecule antagonist of the chemokine receptor CCR2, improved metabolic function while significantly reducing inflammatory macrophages found in adipose tissue in an animal model, and was well tolerated in Phase I clinical trials.

21 Sep 2010

ProtAffin presents impressive efficacy data for PA401 in COPD

ProtAffin AG, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of biopharmaceutical products that act by targeting cell-surface glycan structures, today presents compelling preclinical data in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for its lead product PA401 at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona, Spain. This conference is the largest gathering of scientists and clinicians in the respiratory community in the world. The Oral Presentation will be made in the session "Pre-clinical models of airways disease".