Signaling Pathway News and Research

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RNA-binding protein ROQUIN regulates response to DNA damage

Messenger (mRNA) molecules are a key component of protein biosynthesis. They are first transcribed as a "working copy" of the DNA and then translated into protein molecules.

3 Aug 2015

Vismodegib therapy effective against medulloblastoma

A targeted therapy already used to treat advanced skin cancer is also effective against the most common subtype of the brain tumor medulloblastoma in adults and should be considered for treatment of newly diagnosed patients, according to research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

30 Jul 2015

Researchers establish safety, dosing of new drug for treating blood cancers

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have established the safety and dosing of a new drug for treating blood cancers. The findings are published online July 27 in The Lancet Haematology.

29 Jul 2015

Body fat can send stress signals, say University of Florida Health researchers

The brain's effect on other parts of the body has been well established. Now, a group that includes two University of Florida Health researchers has found that it's a two-way street: Body fat can send a signal that affects the way the brain deals with stress and metabolism.

24 Jul 2015

Chromosomes play active role in animal cell division

Canadian and British researchers have discovered that chromosomes play an active role in animal cell division. This occurs at a precise stage - cytokinesis - when the cell splits into two new daughter cells.

14 Jul 2015

Potential molecular link identified between excess fat in the blood and blood vessel recovery in ischemia

The buildup of fat in the blood makes a bad situation worse - it not only raises a person's risk for heart attack or stroke but also impairs the growth of new blood vessels. How excess fat in the blood - a condition known as hyperlipidemia - blocks vessel growth was unclear, but new work by researchers at Temple University School of Medicine shows that a molecule known as caspase-1 plays a central role and that preventing its activity could be the key to building new blood vessels and restoring blood supply to oxygen-starved tissues.

10 Jul 2015

Defects in mitochondria play key role in transition of normal cells to cancerous cells

Cancer cells defy the rules by which normal cells abide. They can divide without cease, invade distant tissues and consume glucose at abnormal rates.

9 Jul 2015

Computer model shows how cancerous tumors manipulate blood-vessel growth for their own benefit

Rice University researchers have built a simulation to show how cancerous tumors manipulate blood-vessel growth for their own benefit.

9 Jul 2015

WSU researcher secures $1.25 million NIH grant to study role of rosiglitazone drug in reversing preeclampsia

Sascha Drewlo, Ph.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, has secured a $1.25 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to study the role of approved drugs to improve placental function.

8 Jul 2015

Findings reveal new pathway to develop effective treatments and therapies for asthma, allergy

Investigators have discovered the precise molecular steps that enable immune cells implicated in certain forms of asthma and allergy to develop and survive in the body. The findings from Weill Cornell Medical College reveal a new pathway that scientists could use to develop more effective treatments and therapies for the chronic lung disorder.

7 Jul 2015

UCSD researchers discover cell signaling pathway that controls initiation, progression of colorectal cancer

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a cell signaling pathway that appears to exert some control over initiation and progression of colorectal cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. A key protein in the pathway also appears to be predictive of cancer survival rates.

1 Jul 2015

Penn Medicine scientists identify stem-like 'progenitor' cell that produces heart muscle cells

Future therapies for failing hearts are likely to include stem-like cells and associated growth factors that regenerate heart muscle. Scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have just taken an important step towards that future by identifying a stem-like "progenitor" cell that produces only heart muscle cells.

26 Jun 2015

Researchers identify gene variant that makes breast cancer cells more aggressive

A particular human gene variant makes breast cancer cells more aggressive. Not only are these more resistant to chemotherapy but also leave the primary tumour and establish themselves in other parts of the body in the form of metastases. An international group of researchers led by Lukas Kenner of MedUni Vienna has now identified a gene, AF1q, as being substantially responsible for this and recognized it as a possible starting point for more accurate diagnosis and potential targeted therapeutic approaches.

15 Jun 2015

Protein-signaling process accelerates work of gene mutation linked to common form of adult leukemia

In preliminary experiments with mice and lab-grown cells, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found that a protein-signaling process accelerates the work of the gene most frequently mutated in a common form of adult leukemia and is likely necessary to bring about the full-blown disease.

11 Jun 2015

Rhythm announces initiation of two setmelanotide Phase 2 trials for treatment of PWS, POMC-null obesity

Rhythm announced today the initiation of two Phase 2 clinical trials focused on evaluating the safety and effectiveness of setmelanotide (RM-493), the company's novel melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) agonist, for the treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) and POMC-null obesity.

4 Jun 2015

Penn Medicine researchers explore primary player involved in T cell exhaustion

Sometimes even cells get tired. When the T cells of your immune system are forced to deal over time with cancer or a chronic infection such as HIV or hepatitis C, they can develop 'T cell exhaustion,' becoming less effective and losing their ability to attack and destroy the invaders of the body.

4 Jun 2015

Scientists identify gene mutation that causes color blindness

A rare eye disorder marked by color blindness, light sensitivity, and other vision problems can result from a newly discovered gene mutation identified by an international research team, including scientists from Columbia University Medical Center.

3 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

Blocking FGL2 protein may offer new approach to treating brain cancer

Blocking FGL2, a protein known to promote cancer, may offer a new strategy for treating brain cancer, according to a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

14 May 2015

Study: Disrupting cancer pathway could extend benefits of new immunity-boosting drugs

Understanding how to overrule a signaling pathway that can cause treatments to fail in metastatic melanoma patients should help physicians extend the benefits of recently approved immunity-boosting drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors to more patients.

12 May 2015