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.

Scientists study cell’s reaction to Salmonella by visualizing protein chains at near-molecular level

With drug resistance being on the rise worldwide, bacterial infections pose one of the greatest global threats to human health. By deciphering the host-pathogen interaction on a molecular level, researchers hope to pave the way for new therapies.

10 May 2017

Researchers pinpoint gene that plays crucial role in formation of neural tube defects

Researchers have identified a gene that plays a key role in the formation of neural tube defects, a problem commonly found in infants of pregnant women with diabetes.

5 May 2017

Spermidine supplement may prolong lifespan, prevent liver fibrosis and cancer

Spermidine-; a compound found in foods like aged cheese, mushrooms, soy products, legumes, corn and whole grains-; seems to prevent (at least in animal models) liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the most common type of liver cancer. There is also some evidence that it may prolong lifespan, according to a study published recently in the journal Cancer Research.

20 Apr 2017

Brain cancer patient treated with malaria drug shows dramatic improvement

After her brain cancer became resistant to chemotherapy and then to targeted treatments, 26-year-old Lisa Rosendahl's doctors gave her only a few months to live.

19 Apr 2017

Researchers show how dengue virus employs multiple tactics to evade immune detection

For the human body to mount an immune response to a viral infection, host cells must identify the viral invader and trigger a signaling pathway. This signal then prompts the immune system to attack and subdue the pathogen.

19 Apr 2017

Scientists discover new role for autophagosomes in neurodegenerative diseases

Autophagosomes are at the center of attention, at least since the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded for research on autophagy in 2016. The much talked about autophagosomes are small membrane vesicles in charge of waste disposal to promote recycling of its components.

11 Apr 2017

Study reveals potential new therapeutic approach to tackle infection by Legionella bacteria

The precise mechanism used by Legionella bacteria to escape the body's defences has been unpicked in intricate detail and is described for the first time in the journal eLife.

11 Apr 2017

Research finding could offer new way to fight deadly pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer, most frequently pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is the most lethal and aggressive of all cancers. Unfortunately, there are not many effective therapies available other than surgery, and that is not an option for many patients.

10 Apr 2017

Researchers discover key to reveal secret of reversible aging recovery

DGIST's research team discovered substances that can induce reversible aging* recovery and identified an aging recovery mechanism using these substances.

3 Apr 2017

Research provides insights on how pathogens escape process of autophagy

Our immune system has various ways to deal with threats from the outside like pathogens. One of the defence mechanisms is a process called autophagy.

3 Mar 2017

Discovery of dual role played by PGK1 enzyme may indicate new therapeutic target for brain cancer

Discovery of a dual role played by the enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) may indicate a new therapeutic target for glioblastoma, an often fatal form of brain cancer, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

24 Feb 2017

Analyzing copies of genes may offer new therapeutic approaches for ovarian cancer

A team of 18 University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center researchers has developed a new tool to analyze an often overlooked aspect of cancer genetics -- an alteration that results in the loss or gain in a copy of a gene.

15 Feb 2017

SBP scientists identify autophagy linked to beneficial effects of enduring temporary stress

Biologists have known for decades that enduring a short period of mild stress makes simple organisms and human cells better able to survive additional stress later in life.

15 Feb 2017

Exosome isolation using ultracentrifugation

In the outpatient clinic and lab, our research studies aim to understand biological functions of exosomes and membrane particles.

From Beckman Coulter Life Sciences - Centrifugation 9 Feb 2017

Researchers reveal how soy consumption impacts common breast cancer treatment

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have used animal models to reveal new information about the impact - positive and negative - that soy consumption could have on a common breast cancer treatment.

1 Feb 2017

Cancer cells proliferate by stealing energy from neighbouring cells, study finds

Researchers at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital have discovered that cancer cells grow by stealing energy from neighbouring cells.

26 Jan 2017

Faults in natural waste disposal system may play key role in neurodegenerative diseases

A fault with the natural waste disposal system that helps to keep our brain cell 'batteries' healthy may contribute to neurodegenerative disease, a new study has found.

25 Jan 2017

Scientists uncover new way to starve tumor cells to death

For decades, scientists have tried to halt cancer by blocking nutrients from reaching tumor cells, in essence starving tumor cells of the fuel needed to grow and proliferate. Such attempts often have disappointed because cancer cells are nimble, relying on numerous backup routes to continue growing.

24 Jan 2017

New drugs that target neighbour proteins may help halt cancer progression

Cancer is caused by an accumulation of genetic changes in a cell, that overcome the normal checks and balances leading to uncontrolled growth. A complex, interacting network of proteins controls all of a cell's processes, from metabolism to growth and division.