Autophagy News and Research

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Autophagy is a normal process in which a cell destroys proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm (the fluid inside the cell membrane but outside the nucleus), which may lead to cell death. Autophagy may prevent normal cells from developing into cancer cells, but it may also protect cancer cells by destroying anticancer drugs or substances taken up by them.

Chemotherapy plus immunotherapy can enhance anti-tumor effects in patients with advanced cancer

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital in China have discovered that combining chemotherapy drugs and immunotherapy cancer vaccines results in an enhanced anti-tumor effect.

10 Oct 2012

HDL may protect against abdominal aortic aneurysm

High levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol inhibit the formation of abdominal aortic aneurysm, findings from experimental mouse models suggest.

2 Oct 2012

Rapamycin can alleviate frontotemporal lobar degeneration

A southern Taiwan-based National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) research team has discovered that rapamycin, a drug as a autophagy activator is a possible treatment to alleviating frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), one of the mainly causes of dementia, and so far no medication can be used.

29 Sep 2012

Three USU doctoral students to receive Henry M. Jackson Fellowships

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. has selected three promising Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) doctoral students to receive fellowships for the 2012-13 academic year. The program, established in 1988, includes two Henry M. Jackson Fellowships and one Val G. Hemming Fellowship. Each fellow receives a stipend and travel support.

28 Sep 2012

Study investigates effects of acidity on breast and pancreatic cancer cell lines

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and Wayne State University have discovered that tumor cell survival relies on adaptation to acidic conditions in the tumor microenvironment.

7 Sep 2012

Latrepiridine reduces level of at least two neurodegeneration-related proteins in mice

14 Aug 2012

Latrepirdine demonstrates new potential against neurodegenerative conditions

The second of two studies on latrepirdine, recently published in Molecular Psychiatry, demonstrates new potential for the compound in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders, and other neurodegenerative conditions. An international team led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine scientists found that latrepiridine, known commercially as Dimebon, reduced the level of at least two neurodegeneration-related proteins in mice.

13 Aug 2012

Scripps Florida scientists to identify and develop new therapeutic approaches against cancers

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded approximately $1.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to identify and develop new therapeutic approaches against a broad spectrum of cancers.

7 Aug 2012

Scientists discover critical molecular switch that regulates autophagy

The body has a built-in system known as autophagy, or 'self-eating,' that controls how cells live or die. Deregulation of autophagy is linked to the development of human diseases, including neural degeneration and cancer.

2 Aug 2012

Latrepirdine appears effective in treating Alzheimer's disease in animals

An international team of scientists led by researchers at Mount Sinai School Medicine have discovered that a drug that had previously yielded conflicting results in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease effectively stopped the progression of memory deterioration and brain pathology in mouse models of early stage Alzheimer's disease.

31 Jul 2012

Mitochondrial gene regulators involved in Huntington’s disease pathology

Researchers have identified two molecules involved in mitochondrial function that appear to be important in the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease.

16 Jul 2012

PGC-1alpha and TFEB provide two new therapeutic targets for Huntington's disease

In a paper published in the July 11 online issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified two key regulatory proteins critical to clearing away misfolded proteins that accumulate and cause the progressive, deadly neurodegeneration of Huntington's disease.

12 Jul 2012