Autophagy News and Research

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Autophagy is a normal process in which a cell destroys proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm (the fluid inside the cell membrane but outside the nucleus), which may lead to cell death. Autophagy may prevent normal cells from developing into cancer cells, but it may also protect cancer cells by destroying anticancer drugs or substances taken up by them.

Study reveals arsenal used by protozoans to make leishmaniasis more severe

Researchers have succeeded in revealing the arsenal used by protozoans of the genus Leishmania in human cells to make leishmaniasis more severe, especially in cases of the mucocutaneous variety of the disease, which can cause deformations in patients.

24 Mar 2021

Pancreatic cancer cells use adaptive mechanisms to avoid death by starvation

In new findings published online March 18, 2021 in the journal Cancer Cell, an international team of researchers, led by scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, describe how pancreatic cancer cells use an alternative method to find necessary nutrients, defying current therapies, to help them grow and spread.

19 Mar 2021

Study reveals unknown immune defense system that protects the lungs from viral infections

Researchers have uncovered a previously unknown arm of the immune defence system that protects the lung from lethal viral infections.

18 Mar 2021

Genome-wide CRISPR screening used to identify factors essential for SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans

In a methodologically trailblazing paper published in the journal Nature Genetics, a team of Belgian scientists uncovered an assembly of coronavirus host factors that may be exploited to develop drugs against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but also potentially forthcoming zoonotic coronaviruses.

14 Mar 2021

Researchers identify human BCAS3 and C16orf70 as novel autophagic proteins

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation process of cytosolic materials and damaged organelles. Researchers at Ubiquitin Project of TMIMS have been studying the molecular mechanism of mitophagy, the selective autophagy process to eliminate damaged mitochondria.

5 Mar 2021

CRISPR screen identifies clinically approved immunosuppressants that could treat coronavirus infections

Researchers in Switzerland and Germany have identified host cell factors required for coronavirus replication that could serve as targets for treatment with clinically-approved drugs.

25 Feb 2021

High expression of ACE2 receptors in developing ovaries increases SARS-CoV-2 risk

A team of scientists from China collaborated to find if SARS-CoV-2 could also infect the ovary at different developmental stages.

25 Feb 2021

Researchers identify protein sequences involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was established that SARS-CoV-2 infects cells by binding to the human protein ACE2, which plays a role in regulating blood pressure.

12 Feb 2021

Researchers use cachexia model to assess cancer-derived myocardial impairments

Oncotarget recently published "Evaluation of cancer-derived myocardial impairments using a mouse model" which reported that Myocardial damage in cancer patients is emphasized as a cause of death; however, there are not many murine cachexia models to evaluate cancer-derived heart disorder.

11 Feb 2021

HIV: New therapeutic approach to restore the effectiveness of immune cells

Prompted by the need to improve conventional treatments for people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), a team from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique has identified a therapeutic approach to restore the effectiveness of immune cells.

8 Feb 2021

Researchers find new clues to how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells

The molecular details of how SARS-CoV-2 enters cells and infects them are still not clear. Researchers at Uppsala University have tested the bioinformatic predictions made by another research group and have identified receptors that could be important players in the process.

8 Feb 2021

Stopping cell recycling could help treat HER2-positive breast cancer

Recycling cans and bottles is a good practice. It helps keep the planet clean. The same is true for recycling within cells in the body. Each cell has a way of cleaning out waste in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. This "cell recycling" is called autophagy.

8 Feb 2021

Researchers call for trials of rapamycin to treat COVID-19

Researchers in the United States, China, and the UK have called for immediate large-scale clinical trials of an antibiotic called rapamycin as a prophylactic and treatment approach to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in older individuals.

4 Feb 2021

Iron release can be detrimental to the heart, study suggests

A process that releases iron in response to stress may contribute to heart failure, and blocking this process could be a way of protecting the heart, suggests a study in mice published today in eLife.

2 Feb 2021

Cancer cells hibernate to survive harsh environment created by chemotherapy

Tapping into an ancient evolutionary survival mechanism, cancer cells enter into a sluggish, slow-dividing state to survive the harsh environment created by chemotherapy or other targeted agents.

7 Jan 2021

Liver cancer cells cause stromal cells to secrete protein that enhances tumor growth

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), frequently seen in patients with liver cirrhosis caused by alcohol abuse or chronic viral hepatitis, is the most common form of liver cancer worldwide.

6 Jan 2021

Study reveals the role of SETD2 protein in cancer cells, cell migration, and autophagy

SETD2 is a protein well known as a chromatin remodeler, one that helps turn genes on or off by modifying histone proteins in the nucleus of the cell.

24 Dec 2020

Anti-diarrhea drug triggers cell death in glioblastoma cells

In cell culture, loperamide, a drug commonly used against diarrhea, proves effective against glioblastoma cells. A research team at Goethe University has now unraveled the drug’s mechanisms of action of cell death induction and – in doing so – has shown how this compound could help attack brain tumors that otherwise are difficult to treat.

22 Dec 2020

Researchers discover novel mechanism by which cells turn over mitochondria

Mitochondria are cellular organelles that generate most of the energy cells need to function, and thus play an important role in maintaining cell health.

21 Dec 2020