Signaling Pathway News and Research

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TSRI scientists identify enzyme that maintains healthy periods of inactivity in HSCs to prevent anemia

Stem cells can generate any type of cell in the body, but they are inactive most of the time—and for good reason. When stem cells become too active and divide too often, they risk acquiring cell damage and mutations. In the case of blood stem cells (also called hematopoietic stem cells or HSCs), this can lead to blood cancers, a loss of blood cells and an impaired ability to fight disease.

26 Mar 2015

ItpkB enzyme regulates stem cells function to prevent cancer, anemia

Stem cells can generate any type of cell in the body, but they are inactive most of the time--and for good reason. When stem cells become too active and divide too often, they risk acquiring cell damage and mutations.

24 Mar 2015

Study reveals how Grhl2 plays a role in kidney function

The kidney carries out vital functions by continuously filtering the blood and excreting waste products into the urine. This is achieved by a complex system of tubules which transports the urine and regulates its composition.

19 Mar 2015

Scientists identify mystery behind cell-signaling breakdown that causes heart failure

Working with lab animals and human heart cells, scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions have identified what they describe as "the long-sought culprit" in the mystery behind a cell-signaling breakdown that triggers heart failure. The condition, which affects nearly 6 million Americans and 23 million people worldwide, is marked by progressive weakening and stiffening of the heart muscle and the organ's gradual loss of blood-pumping ability.

19 Mar 2015

Researchers identify promising new approach to treat pulmonary fibrosis

By uncovering the mechanism by which fibrous tissue cells in the lung multiply, researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, along with colleagues in Mexico and Canada, have identified a promising new approach for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

18 Mar 2015

Penn researchers find evidence of new culprit in colon cancer

Colon cancer is a heavily studied disease -- and for good reason. It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its numbers are on the rise, from 500,00 deaths in 1990 to 700,000 in 2010.

17 Mar 2015

MDC scientists identify new molecular signaling pathway that regulates placental development

During pregnancy, the mother supplies the fetus with nutrients and oxygen via the placenta. If placental development is impaired, this may lead to growth disorders of the embryo or to life-threatening diseases of the mother such as preeclampsia, a serious condition involving high blood pressure and increased urinary protein excretion.

11 Mar 2015

Scientists design a promising vaccine for herpes viruses

Herpes simplex virus infections are an enormous global health problem and there is currently no viable vaccine.

9 Mar 2015

EMA's CHMP backs JINARC (tolvaptan) for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency has recommended JINARC (tolvaptan) for approval.

3 Mar 2015

Study details a new pathway for tumor formation

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) have identified the biological mechanism that may give some cancer cells the ability to form tumors in dogs.

2 Mar 2015

Researchers one step closer to understanding development of glioblastoma

Glioblastomas are a highly aggressive type of brain tumor, with few effective treatment options. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are one step closer to understanding glioblastoma development following the identification of a key protein signaling pathway involved in brain tumor stem cell growth and survival.

26 Feb 2015

Rigel, Bristol-Myers Squibb partner to develop, commercialize TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement for the discovery, development and commercialization of cancer immunotherapies based on Rigel's extensive portfolio of small molecule TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors.

23 Feb 2015

Mayo Clinic researchers identify molecule that lays groundwork for development of pancreatic cancer

A research team led by investigators from Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, and the University of Oslo, Norway, have identified a molecule that pushes normal pancreatic cells to transform their shape, laying the groundwork for development of pancreatic cancer -- one of the most difficult tumors to treat.

21 Feb 2015

UT Southwestern researchers find that acetate speeds up growth and metastasis of tumors

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers seeking novel ways to combat cancer found that giving acetate, a major compound produced in the gut by host bacteria, to mice sped up the growth and metastasis of tumors.

18 Feb 2015

New research provides hope for treating stroke using HUCBCs

Researchers have known that transplanted human umbilical cord cells (HUCBCs) can have a restorative effect on the brain and brain function following a stroke. However, just how the cells exert their therapeutic effects has not been clear. Now, a research team from the University of South Florida using animal models of stroke has found that the HUCBCs are most beneficial in preventing neuron loss when the Akt signaling pathway is activated by secretions from the HUCBCs and that Akt activation subsequently impacts a specific gene involved in reducing inflammation.

10 Feb 2015

New findings could pave way to develop drug therapies for necrosis-related diseases

Strokes, heart attacks and traumatic brain injuries are separate diseases with certain shared pathologies that achieve a common end - cell death and human injury due to hypoxia, or lack of oxygen.

9 Feb 2015

New study links cell communication pathway to common brain tumors found in children

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers links a well-known cell communication pathway called Notch to one of the most common -- but overall still rare -- brain tumors found in children.

6 Feb 2015

Scientists publish catalog of genetic mutations found in head and neck cancers

Scientists have published the first comprehensive catalog of genetic mutations and other abnormal changes found in 279 cancers of the head and neck, and have identified several broken molecular pathways that might be targeted by existing and future cancer drugs.

28 Jan 2015

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome can be compared to normal aging, say scientists

In a new research study, scientists from Vision Genomics, LLC, Insilico Medicine, Inc., and Howard University showed that Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS or Progeria) is comparable to normal aging with respect to cellular signaling pathways, and that HGPS truly recapitulates the normal aging process.