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.

Nerve cells derived from embryonic stem cells and transplanted into mice may lead to improved brain therapies

Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have, for the first time, genetically programmed embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain, according to a study published today in The Journal of Neuroscience.

24 Jun 2008

Nanoparticles trigger built-in cell-death signal to overcome drug resistance

One of the most vexing problems in treating cancer is the propensity of tumors to develop resistance to a wide range of anticancer drugs. Over 70 percent of ovarian cancer patients, for example, have drug-resistant tumors at the time of their initial diagnosis, and virtually all patients who relapse have drug-resistant tumors.

15 Jun 2008

Human tumor nanoparticles induce apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells

Using nanoparticles made from pieces of tumor cells, investigators from Aix-Marseille University in Marseille, France, have developed a new type of anticancer agent that appears to stop tumor cell growth and proliferation.

15 Jun 2008

EntreMed receives new patent for 2-Methoxyestradiol analogs

EntreMed, Inc. has announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,371,741 covering analogs of 2- methoxyestradiol (2ME2).

11 Jun 2008

Enzyme plays key role in cell fate

The road to death or differentiation follows a similar course in embryonic stem cells, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

5 Jun 2008

Synthetic molecules developed by Hebrew University researchers hold promise for new family of anti-cancer drugs

Synthetic molecules designed by two Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have succeeded in reducing and even eliminating the growth of human malignant tissues in mice, while having no toxic effects on normal tissue.

4 Jun 2008

Kidney cell suicide in diabetes patients

Diabetes is the leading cause of renal failure that requires dialysis. The disease generates such a hostile environment that it forces the kidney cells to kill themselves, progressively reducing the renal functions of the kidneys.

4 Jun 2008

The emerging role of infection in Alzheimer’s

A number of chronic diseases are in fact caused by one or more infectious agents. For example, stomach ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori, chronic lung disease in newborns and chronic asthma in adults are both caused by Mycoplasmas and Chlamydia pneumonia, while some other pathogens have been associated with atherosclerosis. The realization that pathogens can produce slowly progressive chronic diseases has opened new lines of research into Alzheimer's disease.

25 May 2008

Minocycline may find new life as a stroke treatment

An old intravenous antibiotic may have new life as a stroke treatment, researchers say. Minocycline appears to reduce stroke damage in multiple ways - inhibiting white blood cells and enzymes that, at least acutely, can destroy brain tissue and blood vessels, respectively, says Dr. David Hess, chair of the Department of Neurology in the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.

19 May 2008

Arsenic-based agent shown to help eradicate leukemia-initiating cells

In both leukemia and solid tumors, there exists among the multitude of warrior cancer cells a small subgroup that work undercover, patiently lying in wait to launch their attacks. Known as either cancer initiating cells (CICs) or leukemia initiating cells (LICs), these stealth populations are impervious to conventional chemotherapy and undaunted by targeted cancer therapies. When a leukemia patient relapses following a period of remission, it is the LICs that bear responsibility for the disease's reemergence.

12 May 2008

Epidermal growth factor receptor protects cancer cells from starving

A growth factor receptor found abundantly on the surface of cancer cells and long known to fuel cancer growth also protects tumor cells from starvation by a newly identified mechanism, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the May 5 issue of Cancer Cell.

5 May 2008

Small molecule nutlin-3a activates an important cancer suppressor gene

By activating a cancer suppressor gene, a small molecule called nutlin-3a can block cancer cell division, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

1 May 2008

Multiple studies demonstrate use of hyperthermia therapy in treating pancreatic cancer

BSD Medical Corporation has began to report highlights from 204 abstracts summarizing presentations at the International Congress on Hyperthermic Oncology (ICHO) conducted this month in Munich, Germany

24 Apr 2008

Vitamin D and the risk of developing breast cancer

A connection between vitamin D level and the risk of developing breast cancer has been implicated for a long time, but its clinical relevance had not yet been proven.

18 Apr 2008

Aida Pharmaceuticals announces development of new anti-cancer drug

Aida Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it is developing a potential cancer drug that seeks to trigger cell death in certain types of cancer.

18 Apr 2008

Wild Mediterranean plant provides potential anticancer medicines

A group of scientists from the Department of Organic Chemistry and the Biotechnology Institute of the University of Granada have found out that the plant “Dittirichia viscose”, known as elecampe, can be used to obtain inhibitors of neurogenic vasodilatation, a significant progress in migraine and cancer treatments.

17 Apr 2008

Blood pressure drugs halt pancreatic cancer cell growth

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia are inching closer to understanding how common blood pressure medications might help prevent the spread of pancreatic cancer.

15 Apr 2008

Stopping unwanted cell death: novel avenue for drug development

Research published in Nature Chemical Biology reveals that three specific inhibitors of a cell death pathway, termed necroptosis, all target and inhibit RIP1 kinase, a protein that can direct cells into necrosis.

13 Apr 2008

T-cadherin affects blood vessel growth in breast cancer, hormone from fat cells may play a role

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) may have found a new option for targeted breast cancer therapy by showing the link between a certain protein and the formation and development of blood vessels that feed breast tumors.

7 Apr 2008

Cancer treatment from a common avian virus under study

Researchers on the Blacksburg and College Park, Maryland campuses of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine have been awarded a major new grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support innovative work that seeks to develop a treatment for cancer from a common avian virus.

7 Apr 2008