G Protein News and Research

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Inflammation enhances pancreatic cancer cell progression

Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected.

20 Jan 2012

MSC-mediated RNAi transfer holds promise for Huntington's disease

A team of researchers at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures has developed a technique for using stem cells to deliver therapy that specifically targets the genetic abnormality found in Huntington's disease, a hereditary brain disorder that causes progressive uncontrolled movements, dementia and death.

20 Jan 2012

External stimuli control hormonal regulation of our eating behavior

Max Planck researchers have proven something scientifically for the first time that laypeople have always known: the mere sight of delicious food stimulates the appetite. A study on healthy young men has documented that the amount of the neurosecretory protein hormone ghrelin in the blood increases as a result of visual stimulation through images of food.

20 Jan 2012

Defect in neuronal RNA splicing process may contribute to neurological disease

A Jackson Laboratory research team led by Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Susan Ackerman, Ph.D., has discovered a defect in the RNA splicing process in neurons that may contribute to neurological disease.

20 Jan 2012

Inherited mutation links exploding chromosomes to cancer

An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University Hospital, all in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered.

20 Jan 2012

Study explains gender-related incidence of liver cancer

Men are four times more likely to develop liver cancer compared to women, a difference attributed to the sex hormones androgen and estrogen. Although this gender difference has been known for a long time, the molecular mechanisms by which estrogens prevent -- and androgens promote -- liver cancer remain unclear.

20 Jan 2012

Anabolic steroids do not appear to contribute to CTE

Anabolic steroids don't appear to contribute to degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma in athletes, according to a study in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

20 Jan 2012

Scientists decode unknown mechanism of imiquimod in tumour defense

A research team from the Institute for Cancer Research at the MedUni Vienna has decoded a previously unknown mechanism of the active ingredient imiquimod in tumour defense. They have been able to prove that imiquimod transforms plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) into "tumour-killers" which can fight the tumour independently from other immune cells. This discovery could be an important step on the way to a more efficient treatment for cancer.

20 Jan 2012

Study examines drug resistance in ALK positive lung cancer

Scientists from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have once again advanced the treatment of a specific kind of lung cancer. The team has documented how anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) becomes resistant to a drug targeting the abnormal protein in the cancer. It's the first time scientists have analyzed the frequency and type of drug resistance in ALK positive patients taking crizotinib.

19 Jan 2012

A reliable way to replicate α-synuclein aggregation on cell membranes in Parkinson's disease patients

The accumulation of α-synuclein, a small, negatively charged protein, in neural cells, is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease. It has been suggested that oligomeric α-synuclein causes membranes to become permeable, or to form channels on the outer cell membrane.

19 Jan 2012

PfSET10 molecule plays a crucial role in malaria infection

The discovery by researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of a molecule that is key to malaria's 'invisibility cloak' will help to better understand how the parasite causes disease and escapes from the defenses mounted by the immune system.

19 Jan 2012

Soligenix reports results from long-term stability studies of SGX204 anthrax vaccine

Soligenix, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today results from long-term stability studies of its proprietary DNI anthrax rPA subunit protein vaccine, known as SGX204.

19 Jan 2012

Novel technique accurately maps gene-regulation proteins

A novel technique has been developed and demonstrated at Penn State University to map the proteins that read and regulate chromosomes -- the string-like structures inside cells that carry genes.

19 Jan 2012

Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from experimental drug

Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from an experimental drug being tested by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences — work that they hope will one day help people with similar injuries.

19 Jan 2012

Alpha-hemolysin may play an unexpected role in UTIs

Researchers from the University of Utah have identified a process by which the most common types of urinary tract infection-causing bacteria are able to trigger bladder cell shedding and disable immune responses. According to this new study, published in the Jan. 19, 2012, issue of Cell Host & Microbe, α-hemolysin, a toxin secreted by many strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), may play an important, unexpected role during both the establishment and persistence of urinary tract infections.

19 Jan 2012

Promega announces beta launch of Find My Gene

Promega announces the beta launch of the online gene exploration tool Find My Gene. Find My Gene integrates a number of robust functionalities to help researchers better understand their gene's function.

19 Jan 2012

Vitamin D could prevent age related eye degeneration: Study

A new study showed that increased vitamin D intake can help to prevent age-related diseases, in particular loss of vision and blindness.

18 Jan 2012

Melanoma drug makes pre-existing cells with RAS mutation grow into skin squamous cell cancers

Patients with metastatic melanoma taking the recently approved drug vemurafenib (Zelboraf) responded well to the twice daily pill, but some of them developed a different, secondary skin cancer.

18 Jan 2012

Slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins cause Parkinson's disease

Imagine if doctors could spot Parkinson's disease at its inception and treat the protein that triggers it before the disease can sicken the patient.

18 Jan 2012

Defects in mitochondria lead to devastating neurodegenerative disease

A devastating neurodegenerative disease that first appears in toddlers just as they are beginning to walk has been traced to defects in mitochondria, the 'batteries' or energy-producing power plants of cells. This finding by a team of researchers, led by investigators from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro- at McGill University, was published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

18 Jan 2012