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.

$1 million of mesothelioma research funding

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) has announced awards of almost $1 million in additional research funding aimed at curing mesothelioma.

24 Feb 2006

Study provides further insight into the molecular control of apoptosis

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have gained deeper understanding of two members of a family of proteins called caspases that play a key role in promoting apoptosis, a process in which the cell responds to external signals by essentially committing suicide.

23 Feb 2006

Extract from Scutellaria Barbata may treat breast cancer

A new clinical formulation extracted from a botanical may provide physicians with a new tool in treating aggressive late-stage breast cancer.

21 Feb 2006

New mechanism that regulates K-Ras - protein that plays an important role in cancer

Researchers have discovered a protein widely known to cause the out-of-control growth of cells can actually be manipulated to induce those cells to commit suicide, providing a novel target for the development of anti-cancer drugs, according to the results of a new study led by New York University School of Medicine researchers.

21 Feb 2006

Botox finds a use in cancer treatment

The cosmetic treatment Botox may have a new use as an adjuvant to cancer therapy, providing an open door for chemotherapy and radiation treatments, according to a study published in the Feb. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

17 Feb 2006

Study identifies compounds that overcome a specific type of resistance to chemotherapeutic-induced apoptosis

Treatment of human cancer is often impeded when cancer cells develop resistance to drugs that are designed to induce a type of programmed cell death called apoptosis.

16 Feb 2006

Statins show beneficial effect on rheumatoid arthritis

Statins, a class of drugs widely used to treat high cholesterol, have also recently been studied for their potential role in inflammation and other cell processes, including immune response.

13 Feb 2006

Nod1 found to control tumor growth in certain breast cancers

This protein was previously thought to play a role solely in the innate immune system's response to bacterial infection. In the new study, which will be published on-line by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

12 Feb 2006

Tomato juice keeps emphysema from developing in new animal model of degenerative disease

Feeding tomato juice to mice kept them from developing emphysema after cigarette smoke exposure that was long enough to induce emphysema in a control group, Japanese researchers report in February issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

10 Jan 2006

DNA polymerase zeta gives cells with damaged DNA a new lease on life

Fortunately, our cells contain many enzymes devoted strictly to detecting and repairing any damage caused by these insults. In fact, failure of these enzymes to make needed repairs to genes can lead to the accumulation of mutations and, eventually, cell death or possibly cancer.

6 Jan 2006

Targeted cancer therapies: Another step forward

While it is clear that the treatment of cancer has already begun to undergo a paradigm shift with the inclusion of innovative targeted therapies into current regimens, it would be wrong to assume these products will entirely replace traditional chemotherapy as the standard treatment for cancer sufferers.

22 Dec 2005

Targeted cancer therapies: Another step forward

22 Dec 2005

65% of ovarian cancer cells sideline body's defences

Ovarian cancer tumour cells use two separate mechanisms to evade the body’s defensive reaction - and in so doing also elude a newly discovered counteraction from the surrounding tissue.

15 Dec 2005

Critical role of p53 gene

Fruit flies can live significantly longer, and remain healthy, when activity of the fly version of the tumor-suppressing protein p53 is reduced in nerve cells.

21 Nov 2005

Nanotechnology and biochemistry provide new way to study T cell signaling

Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California at Berkeley, combining nanotechnology with biochemistry, have created unique synthetic membranes that, for the first time ever, enable them to directly control signaling activity in living T cells from the immune system. Already their experiments have yielded surprising results.

21 Nov 2005

Cellular signal may determine life or death for damaged brain cells

Scientists at the Universities of Heidelberg and Ulm and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, have discovered that a specific signal within brain cells may determine whether they live or die after a stroke.

13 Nov 2005

Zyflamend shows promise in the early treatment of prostate cancer

Data from the Columbia University Department of Urology demonstrates that Zyflamend, a unique herbal extract preparation, suppresses the growth of prostate cancer cells and induces prostate cancer cells to self-destruct via a process called "apoptosis."

13 Nov 2005

Human umbilical cord blood cells may widen treatment window for stroke

An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims.

13 Nov 2005

Aspirin and ibuprofen may significantly reduce the risk of esophageal cancer among people with Barrett's esophagus

Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, may significantly reduce the risk of esophageal cancer among people with Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition associated with chronic heartburn that affects an estimated 1 million to 2 million Americans.

8 Nov 2005

Introgen's INGN 241 combined with Celebrex kills breast cancer cells

Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. today reported the publication of preclinical data demonstrating that INGN 241 works synergistically with celecoxib (Celebrex) marketed by Pfizer to inhibit the growth and increase apoptosis (cell death) of breast cancer cells.

8 Nov 2005