Receptor News and Research

RSS

TAS2R38 and CD36 gene may play a role in fat perception

While high-fat foods are thought to be of universal appeal, there is actually a lot of variation in the extent to which people like and consume fat. A new study in the March issue of the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists, reported that two specific genes, may play a role in some people's ability to taste and enjoy dietary fat.

23 Mar 2012

Opioids may influence breast cancer survival

A new study in the April issue of Anesthesiology analyzed inherited (genetic) differences in how the body responds to its own morphine-like chemicals and pain-relieving opioid drugs, and whether they influence breast cancer survival. Preclinical animal studies have suggested that opioids may promote tumor growth.

22 Mar 2012

Alpha-5 GABA type A receptors linked to anesthesia-related memory loss

A drug targeting one specific receptor may provide the first effective approach to treatment for the common problem of memory loss after surgery and anesthesia, according to an experimental study in the April issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

22 Mar 2012

Scientists reveal first-ever glimpse of complete kappa opioid receptor structure

At the molecular level, drugs like salvinorin A (the active ingredient of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum) work by activating specific proteins, known as receptors, in the brain and body.

22 Mar 2012

Cannabinoid drugs can directly inhibit HIV in late-stage AIDS

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS, according to new findings published online in the journal PLoS ONE.

21 Mar 2012

Heart Failure Congress 2012 to take place from May 19-22

Four days of scientific sessions will be devoted to the latest advances and controversies in heart failure at this year's Heart Failure Congress 2012. The latest results from drugs and devices trials will be announced at the meeting.

21 Mar 2012

Bone-marrow derived MSCs may reduce acute rejection rates in kidney recipients

Among patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing living-related kidney transplants, the use of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal (cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types) stem cells instead of antibody induction therapy resulted in a lower incidence of acute rejection, decreased risk of opportunistic infection, and better estimated kidney function at 1 year, according to a study in the March 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Mar 2012

Women with denser breasts may have increased risk of cancer recurrence

Women aged 50 and over with breasts that have a high percentage of dense tissue are at greater risk of their breast cancer recurring, according to Swedish research presented at the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) in Vienna.

21 Mar 2012

Positive data from Aerpio's AKB-9778 Phase 1 trial on DME

Aerpio Therapeutics, a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing innovative therapies for the treatment of diabetic eye disease and inflammatory bowel disease, today announced positive data from its Phase 1 trial of AKB-9778 for the treatment of diabetic macular edema.

21 Mar 2012

Heptares exercises exclusive option to license new A2A antagonist for CNS disorders

Heptares Therapeutics, the leading GPCR drug discovery company, announces that an operating company of Shire PLC, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, has exercised its exclusive option to license a novel adenosine A2A antagonist discovered by Heptares that is currently in preclinical development.

20 Mar 2012

Scientist generates mutant version of IL-2 protein to treat advanced cancers

The utility of a naturally occurring protein given, sometimes to great effect, as a drug to treat advanced cancers is limited by the severe side effects it sometimes causes. But a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has generated a mutant version of the protein whose modified shape renders it substantially more potent than the natural protein while reducing its toxicity.

19 Mar 2012

ApoE4 gene could cause early loss of synapses in Alzheimer's disease

Today, researchers at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia reported a significant advance in understanding how different forms of the ApoE gene raise the risk for Alzheimer's disease.

17 Mar 2012

HGF/C-MET signaling pathway plays a key role in gestational diabetes development

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a cell-signaling pathway that plays a key role in increasing insulin secretion during pregnancy and, when blocked, leads to the development of gestational diabetes.

17 Mar 2012

Positive data from VBL Therapeutics' VB-201 Phase 2 study on psoriasis, atherosclerosis

VBL Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for immune-inflammatory diseases and cancer, today announced that a Phase 2 sub-study of VB-201 in moderate to severe psoriasis patients with cardiovascular risk has successfully achieved its primary endpoint demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in vascular inflammation associated with atherosclerotic lesions as measured by PET-CT imaging.

17 Mar 2012

CCN1 protein orchestrates cellular antiviral response in the extracellular matrix

Brain-tumor cells that are infected with a cancer-killing virus release a protein "alarm bell" that warns other tumor cells of the impending infection and enables them to mount a defense against the virus, according to a study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

16 Mar 2012

Neuropeptide F in the fly's brain governs behavior linked with addiction

Sexually deprived male fruit flies exhibit a pattern of behavior that seems ripped from the pages of a sad-sack Raymond Carver story: when female fruit flies reject their sexual advances, the males are driven to excessive alcohol consumption, drinking far more than comparable, sexually satisfied male flies.

16 Mar 2012

Panel of 10 serum protein biomarkers could help in lung cancer diagnosis

A panel of serum biomarkers could help predict the level of lung cancer risk in high-risk patients, offering doctors an option before proceeding with a biopsy. Research presented in the April 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows that a panel of 10 serum protein biomarkers could help in the lung cancer diagnosis.

16 Mar 2012

Scientists report about a brain circuit that mediates loss of appetite

The meal is pushed way, untouched. Loss of appetite can be a fleeting queasiness or continue to the point of emaciation. While it's felt in the gut, more is going on inside the head. New findings are emerging about brain and body messaging pathways that lead to loss of appetite, and the systems in place to avoid starvation.

15 Mar 2012

Anti-inflammatory drugs may offer novel treatment for CHD

A large international study indicates that anti-inflammatory drugs may become a new tool for preventing and treating coronary heart disease (CHD), the leading global cause of death.

15 Mar 2012

New RAGE inhibitor shows promise against Alzheimer's

Researchers have taken another crack at a promising approach to stopping Alzheimer's disease that encountered a major hurdle last year. In research published this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, scientists have developed a compound that targets a molecular actor known as RAGE, which plays a central role in mucking up the brain tissue of people with the disease.

15 Mar 2012