Cell Membrane News and Research

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Viral hepatitis: Liver failure caused by defects in the vascular system

In severe cases, a viral hepatitis infection can result in liver failure. A team from the Technical University of Munich has now discovered how this occurs: by immune cells attacking cells in the vascular system, which disrupts the organ's blood and nutrient supply.

19 Dec 2018

Study reveals how ASV and HIV-1 share similar structural features that drive membrane targeting, assembly

A key step in retroviral growth inside a cell, as described by Jamil Saad, Ph.D., and colleagues, is portrayed on the cover of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

18 Dec 2018

Neuroscience-protein that creates borders inside the brain

Boundaries between different regions of the brain are essential for the brain to function. Research to-date has shown that molecular machineries located at the cell membrane such as cell adhesion molecules are responsible for regulating the boundary formation.

18 Dec 2018

Research pinpoints two proteins involved in creation of stem cells

Mammalian embryos are unlike those of any other organism as they must grow within the mother's body. While other animal embryos grow outside the mother, their embryonic cells can get right to work accepting assignments, such as head, tail or vital organ. By contrast, mammalian embryos must first choose between forming the placenta or creating the baby.

11 Dec 2018

Research findings could lead to new targets for cancer-fighting therapeutics

A molecular pathway that's frequently mutated in many different forms of cancer becomes active when cells push parts of their membranes outward into bulging protrusions, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study.

11 Dec 2018

Scientists use water molecules to track electrical activity of nerve cells

Researchers have discovered a new way to monitor electrical activity in nerve cells; by observing water molecules surrounding neuronal membranes.

11 Dec 2018

Study identifies new potential target for treating major common diseases

There is a large, untapped potential for developing drugs against cancer, fibrosis and cardiovascular diseases by targeting a family of receptors known as Frizzleds, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden believe. In a new study published in Science Signaling, they identify how these receptors are activated in the cell membrane and the processes that are then triggered within the cell.

4 Dec 2018

Study provides insights into the mechanism of Gip1 interaction with G proteins

Heterotrimeric G proteins are important in G protein-coupled receptor signaling, which plays many roles in the detection of various environmental stimuli, including hormones, neurotransmitters, light, smells, and chemical signals.

27 Nov 2018

Citrate-based biomaterial could help in better bone repair

A material based on a natural product of bones and citrus fruit, called citrate, provides the extra energy that stem cells need to form new bone tissue, according to a team of Penn State bioengineers.

27 Nov 2018

Researchers discover new information on pathological mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have discovered a mechanism by which harmful tau protein aggregates are transmitted between neurons. Alongside amyloid plaques, tau aggregates in the brain are a significant factor in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Nov 2018

New method to analyze cell membrane complexes could revolutionize the way we study diseases

Researchers have developed a new technique to analyze cell membrane proteins in situ which could revolutionize the way in which we study diseases, such as cancer, metabolic and heart diseases.

17 Nov 2018

Researchers produce 3D chemical maps of small biological samples

Scientists at the National Synchrotron Light Source II --a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory--have used ultrabright x-rays to image single bacteria with higher spatial resolution than ever before.

16 Nov 2018

Researchers uncover how insect antibiotic targets Gram-negative bacteria

An antibiotic called thanatin attacks the way the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is built. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now found out that this happens through a previously unknown mechanism. Thanatin, produced naturally by the spined soldier bug, can therefore be used to develop new classes of antibiotics.

15 Nov 2018

New study upends conventional theories about fluid nature of cell membranes

If you want to understand how the cell membrane works, Adam Cohen says, look no further than your kitchen. Cohen, a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and of Physics, is the lead author of a new study that upends the conventional theories about the fluid nature of cell membranes and how they react to tension.

2 Nov 2018

New insight on quality control in the cellular immune system

Robert Tampé, Director of the Institute of Biochemistry at Goethe University, has received € 1.5 million from the German Research Foundation for a Reinhart Koselleck project.

31 Oct 2018

Researchers discover how protein pair regulates cellular calcium signals

All mammalian cells need a ready supply of calcium ions to execute functions as diverse as neurotransmission, muscle contraction, hormone release, or immune responses. So fundamental is this requirement that cells protect themselves from disaster by storing calcium in a network of intracellular cisterns called the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER.

31 Oct 2018

Study shows how machinery within immune system activates T cells to attack cancer

In just a few years, CAR T-cell and other adoptive T-cell therapies have emerged as among the most promising forms of cancer immunotherapy.

31 Oct 2018

The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal publishes clinical trial results for Shionogi’s cefiderocol

Shionogi & Co., Ltd. announced today that The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has published clinical results from the pivotal randomized controlled trial evaluating cefiderocol for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infection in patients at risk of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections.

26 Oct 2018

Vertex gets European CHMP positive opinion for KALYDECO to treat patients with cystic fibrosis

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Limited today announces that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted a positive opinion for KALYDECO (ivacaftor) to include the treatment of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) aged 12 to <24 months who have at least one of the following nine mutations in their cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene: G551D, G1244E, G1349D, G178R, G551S, S1251N, S1255P, S549N or S549R.

22 Oct 2018

Human neurons employ highly compartmentalized signaling, study shows

Human neurons are much larger than those of model organisms mice and rats, so it's been unclear whether it's size that makes a difference in our brain's computational power.

19 Oct 2018