Cell Metabolism News and Research

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Cell division linked to oxygen levels: Johns Hopkins research

Cells grow abundant when oxygen is available, and generally stop when it is scarce. Although this seems straightforward, no direct link ever has been established between the cellular machinery that senses oxygen and that which controls cell division. Now, in the June 10 issue of Molecular Cell, researchers at Johns Hopkins report that the MCM proteins, which promote cell division, also directly control the oxygen-sensing HIF-1 protein.

12 Jun 2011

Apple peel reduces muscle atrophy and promotes muscle growth in mice

For Popeye, spinach was the key to extra muscle. For the mice in a new University of Iowa study, it was apples, or more precisely a waxy substance called ursolic acid that's found in apple peel.

8 Jun 2011

Eating at wrong time of the day reduces fertility in fruit flies

Dieticians will tell you it isn't healthy to eat late at night: it's a recipe for weight gain. In fruit flies, at least, there's another consequence: reduced fertility.

8 Jun 2011

Key findings from Phase I clinical trial of CPI-613 in AML to be presented at ASCO 2011

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center today announced key findings from a Phase I clinical trial of Cornerstone's first-in-class cancer metabolism inhibitor drug, CPI-613 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

4 Jun 2011

Researchers discover protein switch that can trigger heart failure

Researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre discovered a protein switch which can trigger a cascade of events leading to heart failure, pointing to a new direction for drug development.

24 May 2011

FDA approves Novartis' Afinitor tablets for pancreatic NET treatment

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration approved Afinitor tablets for the treatment of progressive neuroendocrine tumors of pancreatic origin in patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic disease.

6 May 2011

Breakthrough research offers hope for new obesity treatment

By knocking down the expression of a protein in rat brains known to stimulate eating, Johns Hopkins researchers say they not only reduced the animals' calorie intake and weight, but also transformed their fat into a type that burns off more energy. The finding could lead to better obesity treatments for humans, the scientists report.

4 May 2011

Scientists discover new mitochondria regulation mechanism

Scientists have discovered a new component of mitochondria that plays a key part in their function. The discovery, which is presented in the journal Cell Metabolism, is of potential significance to our understanding of both inherited and age-related diseases.

4 May 2011

FibroGen announces proof-of-principle for FG-4592 Phase 2 study in hemodialysis patients

FibroGen, Inc., today announced proof-of-principle for oral anemia therapy FG-4592, a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, in end-stage renal disease patients receiving hemodialysis.

4 May 2011

Techne acquires Tocris Holdings

Techne Corporation announced today that it has acquired 100% ownership of Tocris Holdings Limited and subsidiaries, a leading supplier of reagents for non-clinical life science research.

3 May 2011

New approach links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome

Identifying gene mutations in cancer patients to predict clinical outcome has been the cornerstone of cancer research for nearly three decades, but now researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have invented a new approach that instead links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome. This approach can now be applied to virtually any type of human cancer cell.

15 Apr 2011

Key regulator of fat cell development may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs

New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and collaborating institutions has identified a key regulator of fat cell development that may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs.

8 Apr 2011

TBL1 levels may help identify obese persons at risk of developing fatty liver

Excess fat around the hips and belly may not really be compatible with current beauty ideals, but, to a certain degree, it is a normal, even vital energy store of our body. However, it is a different matter if the organism stores fat in organs such as the liver, pancreas or muscles. This is a clear sign of a metabolic disorder.

7 Apr 2011

New insight into Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease has long been linked to jerky movements. Now, researchers in Lund, Sweden, have shown that the metabolism can also be seriously affected by the hereditary disease. The new laboratory findings provide hope of entirely new treatment methods.

7 Apr 2011

AMPK suppression and SREBP activation are root cause of fatty liver and hyperlipidemia in type 2 diabetes

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine, including Yu Li, PhD, and other colleagues, have demonstrated that a nutrient sensing pathway is involved in the disruption of cellular lipid homeostasis in obese and insulin resistant mice fed a diet high in fat and sucrose.

6 Apr 2011

Huntingtin protein is responsible for metabolic imbalances in hypothalamus

In Huntington's disease, the mutant protein known as huntingtin leads to the degeneration of a part of the brain known as the basal ganglia, causing the motor disturbances that represent one of the most defining features of the fatal disease.

6 Apr 2011

Scientists uncover SREBP-2 role in autophagy and cholesterol generation

Not all cholesterol is bad. Every cell requires it for growth - they either have to get cholesterol somewhere or they die. In a new study published April 6 in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and their collaborators found that a protein sensor known to balance cholesterol sources can also access a previously underappreciated cellular fat storage depot.

6 Apr 2011

Intravenous Phenoxodiol-cisplatin combination well tolerated in platinum resistant ovarian cancer

Marshall Edwards, Inc., an oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapeutics targeting cancer metabolism, announced today the publication of results from a Phase II clinical trial of intravenous Phenoxodiol in combination with cisplatin in women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

21 Mar 2011

FibroGen, Astellas advance FG-4592 to phase 2b development for treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease

FibroGen, Inc., today announced that FibroGen and partner Astellas Pharma Inc. advanced FG-4592 (Astellas designation ASP1517), an investigational anemia therapy, to phase 2b development for treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on dialysis and not on dialysis.

18 Mar 2011

Researchers discover molecular switch for insulin secretion

Johns Hopkins researchers believe they have uncovered the molecular switch for the secretion of insulin — the hormone that regulates blood sugar — providing for the first time an explanation of this process.

16 Mar 2011