Biochemistry News and Research

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Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that a research team in Washington, D.C. has found that dystrophin-deficient Mdx mice, treated twice a week for six months with Tβ4, showed a significant increase in skeletal muscle regenerating fibers compared to untreated mice. No effects related to muscle function or fibrosis and no adverse reactions were observed in the mice.

6 Feb 2010

Amantadine binds to and blocks critical M2 proton channel necessary for influenza virus to infect healthy cells

Antiviral drugs block influenza A viruses from reproducing and spreading by attaching to a site within a proton channel necessary for the virus to infect healthy cells, according to a research project led by Iowa State University's Mei Hong and published in the Feb. 4 issue of the journal Nature.

4 Feb 2010

Researchers uncover new mechanism to protect individuals from serious complications of obesity

Although obesity is a risk factor for diabetes and coronary heart disease worldwide, only some obese individuals go on to develop these metabolic complications, while others are relatively protected. Defining these protective factors could help scientists prevent disease in the wider population.

4 Feb 2010

Photocontrolled molecular switch regulates paralysis in animals

In an advance with overtones of Star Trek phasers and other sci-fi ray guns, scientists in Canada are reporting development of an internal on-off "switch" that paralyzes animals when exposed to a beam of ultraviolet light. The animals stay paralyzed even when the light is turned off. When exposed to ordinary light, the animals become unparalyzed and wake up.

4 Feb 2010

New bioanalytical methods have potential for investigative and screening applications

The Springer journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) has chosen Jean-Philippe Frimat (29) as the recipient of its Best Paper Award 2009. Frimat is the lead author of a paper in ABC on plasma stencilling methods for cell patterning.

3 Feb 2010

Research shows DNA looping can impact gene expression

University of Michigan researchers have shown that tension on DNA molecules can affect gene expression---the process at the heart of biological function that tells a cell what to do.

3 Feb 2010

Safer bone marrow transplants

If a team of American scientists are right, bone marrow transplants may become safer and more available to people in need of donations. In a new research paper appearing in the February 2010 print edition of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org), they explain how an anti-inflammatory agent called "ATL146e" may significantly improve the likelihood of success for bone marrow transplants by preventing or halting the progression of graft-versus-host disease, a complication of bone marrow transplants in which the donor marrow attacks the host. Although very rare, graft-versus-host disease can also occur after blood transfusions.

2 Feb 2010

Mouse model demonstrates cell-to-cell connections between implanted stem cells and diseased cells

Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research), the Karolinska Institutet, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Harvard Medical School and Universit- Libre de Bruxelles have demonstrated in mouse models that transplanted stems cells, when in direct contact with diseased neurons, send signals through specialized channels that rescue the neurons from death.

2 Feb 2010

Noninvasive optical imaging probes to determine amount and type of cell death in tumors

For quite some time, the "Holy Grail" in medical imaging has been the development of an effective method to image cell death as a means to intervene early in diseases and rapidly determine the effectiveness of treatments. A new paper by researchers at the University of Notre Dame and the Washington University School of Medicine describes important progress in using a synthetic probe to target dead and dying cells in mammary and prostate tumors in living animals.

30 Jan 2010

Blood flowing with force protects against dangerous clogs in blood vessels

It is second nature for most of us that exercise protects against heart attack and stroke, but researchers have spent 30 years unraveling the biochemistry behind the idea. One answer first offered by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center is that athletic hearts push blood through arteries with greater force, which alone triggers reactions that protect against dangerous clogs in blood vessels.

29 Jan 2010

Econiche vaccine cited in February, 2010 issue of Scientific American

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced that Econiche(TM), the world's first vaccine developed to reduce the shedding by cattle of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157, has been cited in the February, 2010 issue of Scientific American (Vol. 302, # 2).

29 Jan 2010

Discovery may help in designing drugs for sun-damaged skin

Researchers at Ohio State University have found a new way to study how enzymes move as they repair DNA sun damage -- and that discovery could one day lead to new therapies for healing sunburned skin.

29 Jan 2010

New understanding of CD44 receptor's role in immune cell survival

Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have discovered a new way the cell surface protein, CD44, helps specific T helper (Th1) cells develop immunologic memory.

29 Jan 2010

Normal protein can be converted into prion that causes fatal brain diseases in humans

Scientists have determined how a normal protein can be converted into a prion, an infectious agent that causes fatal brain diseases in humans and mammals.

29 Jan 2010

DNA Medicine Institute awarded Phase II NASA SBIR grant for developing nanoscale diagnostic technologies

DNA Medicine Institute, a commercial organization focused on advancing human health through innovation, today announced it has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The contract is designed to develop nanoscale diagnostic technologies that facilitate whole health analysis in a single drop of blood.

29 Jan 2010

Aubrey receives FDA clearance to market bioengineered wound dressings in U.S.

Aubrey Inc., an advanced wound care company, announced it has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the AWBAT Plus product line in the United States.

28 Jan 2010

Florida State University research team to develop way of measuring zinc levels in the human body

A team of Florida State University researchers will use a five-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a way to measure levels of the trace metal zinc in the human body.

28 Jan 2010

Special issue explores how evolution can help doctors understand and treat diseases

What does evolution - a field that often deals with changes over many generations - have to do with preventing and treating disease in our lifetime?

28 Jan 2010

Leukemia cells rely on fatty acid metabolism to grow and evade cell death

Leukemia cells, like most cancers, are addicted to glucose to generate their energy, but new research shows for the first time that these cells also rely on fatty acid metabolism to grow and to evade cell death.

28 Jan 2010

Researchers challenge prevailing belief about role of protein in abnormal cell proliferation

In a study to be published this week, a research team is challenging a prevailing belief about the behavior of a human protein linked to the formation of cancer, possibly breathing new life into the search for therapies that will inhibit that protein from "turning on" genes involved in abnormal cell proliferation.

27 Jan 2010

Biochemistry News and Research

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Amantadine binds to and blocks critical M2 proton channel necessary for influenza virus to infect healthy cells

Researchers uncover new mechanism to protect individuals from serious complications of obesity

Photocontrolled molecular switch regulates paralysis in animals

New bioanalytical methods have potential for investigative and screening applications

Research shows DNA looping can impact gene expression

Safer bone marrow transplants

Mouse model demonstrates cell-to-cell connections between implanted stem cells and diseased cells

Noninvasive optical imaging probes to determine amount and type of cell death in tumors

Blood flowing with force protects against dangerous clogs in blood vessels

Econiche vaccine cited in February, 2010 issue of Scientific American

Discovery may help in designing drugs for sun-damaged skin

New understanding of CD44 receptor's role in immune cell survival

Normal protein can be converted into prion that causes fatal brain diseases in humans

DNA Medicine Institute awarded Phase II NASA SBIR grant for developing nanoscale diagnostic technologies

Aubrey receives FDA clearance to market bioengineered wound dressings in U.S.

Florida State University research team to develop way of measuring zinc levels in the human body

Special issue explores how evolution can help doctors understand and treat diseases

Leukemia cells rely on fatty acid metabolism to grow and evade cell death

Researchers challenge prevailing belief about role of protein in abnormal cell proliferation

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