Apoptosis News and Research

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Apoptosis is programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

TSRI scientists reveal how mutations in specific autism risk gene alter pattern of early brain development

As early as 1943, when autism was first described by psychiatrist Leo Kanner, reports were made that some, but not all, children with autism spectrum disorder have relatively enlarged heads. But even today, more than half a century later, the exact cause of this early abnormal growth of the head and brain has remained unclear.

16 Jul 2015

Researchers discover molecule that may favour production of induced pluripotent cells

Since 2006, research has succeeded in generating, from specialised adult cells, induced pluripotent cells (iPS cells), with huge potential applications, particularly for regenerative medicine. However, the process has still not been completely mastered. Two teams of researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Centre Léon Bérard and Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University have discovered a molecule that may favour the production of these induced stem cells.

9 Jul 2015

Finding could help improve health and function of the kidney in elderly people

As advances in medicine allow individuals to live longer, people are facing unique age-related health challenges. As they age, organs such as the kidneys become more susceptible to injury, and their ability to self-repair is decreased. Researchers from the University of Missouri have found a cellular signal that causes kidney cells to die, making the kidneys prone to injury.

8 Jul 2015

Dental pulp stem cell transplants can contribute to peripheral nerve regeneration

Peripheral nerve injuries often are caused by trauma or surgical complications and can result in considerable disabilities. Regeneration of peripheral nerves can be accomplished effectively using autologous (self-donated) nerve grafts, but that procedure may sacrifice a functional nerve and cause loss of sensation in another part of the patient's body.

7 Jul 2015

Review article provides in depth survey of studies focusing on retinoblastoma protein's role in apoptosis

Retinoblastoma protein RB1, which is named after a form of pediatric tumor of the eye, is among the most common genetically regulated cellular proteins to malfunction in human cancer. RB1 was also the first tumor suppressor gene to be identified and its modes of inactivation in retinoblastoma tumors provided the basis for the ground-breaking two-hit hypothesis by the geneticist Alfred G. Knudson in the 70s, according to which cancer is due to the accumulation of multiple 'hits' or mutations in certain genes.

3 Jul 2015

New chemical compound reduces pancreatic cancer tumour growth by 80% in mice

Scientists from UCL (University College London) have designed a chemical compound that has reduced the growth of pancreatic cancer tumours by 80 percent in treated mice.

26 Jun 2015

Small intestine causes chronic inflammation in obese patients

Obesity is caused by numerous and complex factors, some of which are as yet unsuspected. Scientists from the CNRS, INSERM, UPMC and Université Paris Descartes, working with research clinicians from Paris Public Hospitals (AP-HP) have now shown that severe obesity is accompanied by inflammation of the small intestine and enhanced immune response in that region.

22 Jun 2015

OphthaliX enters into definitive agreement to purchase Improved Vision Systems

OphthaliX Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on developing therapeutic products for the treatment of ophthalmic disorders and a subsidiary of Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Israel-based Improved Vision Systems Ltd. in a stock-for-stock transaction.

19 Jun 2015

Researchers explore the science of exosomes in heart repair

A little more than a decade ago, researchers discovered that all cells secrete tiny communications modules jammed with an entire work crew of messages for other cells. Today, a team of researchers, led by stem cell researcher Raj Kishore, PhD, Director of the Stem Cell Therapy Program at the Center for Translational Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine, is harnessing the communications vesicles excreted by stem cells and using them to induce the damaged heart to repair itself.

19 Jun 2015

DAPK1 protein may be a promising new therapeutic target for most aggressive breast cancers

Although traditionally understood to induce death in cancer cells, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that the DAPK1 protein is actually essential for growth in breast and other cancers with mutations in the TP53 gene. This discovery indicates DAPK1 may be a promising new therapeutic target for many of the most aggressive cancers.

16 Jun 2015

Findings point to new therapy against prostate and other cancers

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that a drug candidate with anticancer potential can be activated by one of the body's natural responses to cellular stress. Once activated, the agent can kill prostate cancer cells.

11 Jun 2015

Catalan researchers first to use liposomes to fight against diabetes

For the first time liposomes that imitate cells in the process of natural death have been used to treat Diabetes. Researchers at Germans Trias Research Institute (at UAB-Campus of International Excellence Sphere) generated liposomes in collaboration with professionals from the ICN2. PLOS ONE Journal publishes the work.

10 Jun 2015

Updated SOGC guidelines include FIBRISTAL as only approved medical treatment for uterine fibroids

The Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology of Canada has issued updated guidelines for the management of uterine fibroids (uterine leiomyomas), which now include the first and only approved medical treatment for uterine fibroids: FIBRISTAL (ulipristal acetate).

4 Jun 2015

Experimental drug and common antibiotic combination holds promise for pancreatic cancer treatment

Despite surgical advances, pancreatic cancer continues to be one of the most deadly and difficult cancers to manage due to a lack of effective therapies. However, VCU Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) scientists in the lab of Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., are hoping to change that with a novel combination of an experimental drug and a common antibiotic that has shown promising results in preclinical experiments.

2 Jun 2015

ASCO 2015: Novartis presents data on Zykadia and Tafinlar studies for non-small cell lung cancer

Novartis today announced new data from two Phase II studies of Zykadia (ceritinib), as well as one Phase II study of Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) in combination with Mekinist (trametinib) in certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

2 Jun 2015

Abbvie presents venetoclax Phase 1 results in patients with multiple myeloma at ASCO 2015

AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced that results from a Phase 1b trial of investigational venetoclax, a novel inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein that is being developed in partnership with Genentech and Roche, in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone, showed an 83 percent overall response rate (n=5/6) in bortezomib-naive patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma, including two patients who achieved complete responses.1 These data will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting on Sunday, May 31, in Chicago.

1 Jun 2015

Adding AKT inhibitors to radiotherapy could be effective for treating many cancers

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how giving a class of drugs called AKT inhibitors in combination with radiotherapy might boost its effectiveness across a wide range of cancers, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation today.

1 Jun 2015

Inhibitors BGB324 and BGB10C9 show promise in multiple murine models of pancreatic cancer

BerGenBio AS, an oncology biopharmaceutical company, today announces that an abstract on the latest data on BGB324, the Company's first-in-class, selective small molecule inhibitor of the Axl receptor tyrosine kinase, and BGB10C9, an Axl function-blocking monoclonal antibody in pre-clinical development at BerGenBio, has been published in conjunction with the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, May 29 - June 2, 2015.

30 May 2015

Researchers suggest new target for treating BRAF inhibitor-resistant melanoma tumors

A new collaborative study led by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, published today in Cell Reports, provides new insight into the molecular changes that lead to resistance to a commonly prescribed group of drugs called BRAF inhibitors.

28 May 2015

Understanding the antimicrobial action of borrelidin: an interview with Dr Min Guo, TSRI

Borrelidin is a naturally occurring antibiotic isolated from the Streptomyces species and initially from Streptomyces rochei in 1949. It is called Borrelidin because it was firstly discovered as having anti-Borrelia activity. Borrelia is a type of bacteria...

27 May 2015