G Protein News and Research

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Nature journal publishes first volume of Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia

The goal of cancer treatment is to match the right drug to the right target in the right patient. But before such "personalized" drugs can be developed, more knowledge is needed about specific genomic alterations in cancers and their sensitivity to potential therapeutic agents.

29 Mar 2012

MiR-375 regulates IL-13-induced changes in allergic diseases

Researchers have taken a critical step in understanding how allergic reactions occur after identifying a genetic signature for regulation of a key immune hormone, interleukin (IL-13).

29 Mar 2012

Protein's location in a cell affects impact on disease

If the fight against breast cancer were a criminal investigation, then the proteins survivin, HDAC6, CBP, and CRM1 would be among the shadier figures. In that vein, a study to be published in the March 30 Journal of Biological Chemistry is the police report that reveals a key moment for keeping cancer cells alive: survivin's jailbreak from the nucleus, aided and abetted by the other proteins.

29 Mar 2012

Scientists uncover new layer of information in the genetic code

A hidden and never before recognized layer of information in the genetic code has been uncovered by a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) thanks to a technique developed at UCSF called ribosome profiling, which enables the measurement of gene activity inside living cells - including the speed with which proteins are made.

29 Mar 2012

EU-funded project to help control appetite, combat obesity

The University of Liverpool is leading a £6milllion European project to develop and test new food products with satiating qualities to help control appetite, manage weight and combat obesity.

29 Mar 2012

Potential new therapy that kills cancer cells selectively

Researchers have made a drug that helps the immune system to break down cancerous tumors. It has worked on breast, bowel, prostate, ovarian, brain, bladder and liver cancers, while previous studies show it can also be used to fight some blood cancers. If given early, the drug could even be a cure, researchers say.

28 Mar 2012

Later-stage cancers thrive by finding detours around drug roadblocks

Later-stage cancers thrive by finding detours around roadblocks that cancer drugs put in their path, but a Purdue University biochemist is creating maps that will help drugmakers close more routes and develop better drugs.

28 Mar 2012

Study examines link between lab-tested drugs and defective protein that causes CF

Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults, more than two children each and every week are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). New research at Ryerson University, in partnership with The Hospital for Sick Children, is examining the interaction between lab-tested drugs and the defective protein that causes CF to understand how and why the drugs work and to create stronger, more powerful second generation drugs to treat CF.

28 Mar 2012

Data supports links between AD and diabetes: New study

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Today, 5.4 million Americans are living with the disease, and another American develops it every 69 seconds.

28 Mar 2012

Specific precautions must be taken for individuals on longer-term oral glucocorticoid therapy

Millions of people around the world are prescribed glucocorticoids for a wide variety of inflammatory conditions, including, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases. Although they are effective and widely used, one of the potentially serious side effects of these medications is glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

28 Mar 2012

New gene transfer technique can treat beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia

A team of researchers led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment.

28 Mar 2012

UT Southwestern researcher wins prestigious award from International Atherosclerosis Society

Dr. Helen Hobbs, a preeminent researcher on the genetics of cholesterol metabolism at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has won a prestigious award from the International Atherosclerosis Society.

28 Mar 2012

Diet guru Pierre Dukan to face ethical hearing

Dr. Pierre Dukan, the founder of the controversial Dukan Diet now faces an ethics hearing after suggesting children could pass a new exam by staying thin. His diet, said to be followed by some celebrities, recommends avoiding starch and carbohydrates. Some nutritionists say it can be dangerous. Dr Jean-Michel Cohen said the protein-rich diet could cause heart disease and breast cancer.

27 Mar 2012

Experimental drugs from Sanofi and Regenron cut cholesterol in a new way

An experimental drug that acts in a novel way to lower cholesterol proved even more effective than statins and had few undesirable side effects, newly released data shows. The drug acts by modifying the way cholesterol levels are naturally controlled. A protein produced in the liver helps limit the amount of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, that liver cells can remove from the bloodstream. The new drug, called REGN727, is a monoclonal antibody, made in a laboratory, that blocks the action of that protein.

27 Mar 2012

Previously unknown mechanism helps intestinal bacteria to affect formation of blood vessels

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered a previously unknown mechanism which helps intestinal bacteria to affect the formation of blood vessels. The results, which are presented in Nature, may provide future treatments of intestinal diseases and obesity.

27 Mar 2012

New method uses E. coli bacteria to engineer human therapeutic glycoproteins

Escherichia coli - a bacteria considered the food safety bane of restaurateurs, grocers and consumers - is a friend. Cornell University biomolecular engineers have learned to use E. coli to produce sugar-modified proteins for making pharmaceuticals cheaper and faster.

27 Mar 2012

NY-ESO-1 vaccine shows promise against ovarian cancer, melanoma

An immunotherapy regimen incorporating poxviruses and targeting a particular tumor antigen, NY-ESO-1, has shown promise in treating two types of cancers.

27 Mar 2012

Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease

Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease, a leading cause of chronic liver disease in children and adolescents in industrialized countries, according to new findings by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

27 Mar 2012

Researchers use skin cells from MND patient to create motor neurones

A breakthrough using cutting-edge stem cell research could speed up the discovery of new treatments for motor neurone disease (MND).

27 Mar 2012

Protein precursors destined for spiny extensions of neurons travel single file

Protein precursors destined for the spiny extensions of neurons travel single file, according to a study by Sanjay Tyagi, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

27 Mar 2012