Cell Death News and Research

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Scientists identify new targets to develop treatment for HD

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Age Research have discovered that a particular family of enzymes are involved in the breakdown of proteins that modify the production of toxic fragments that lead to the pathology of Huntington's disease. These enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases, provide new targets for drug therapies for the disease - targets that have already been shown to respond to cancer drugs currently in clinical development.

29 Jul 2010

Loss of key nerve cells cause Parkinson's disease: Research

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a molecular pathway responsible for the death of key nerve cells whose loss causes Parkinson's disease. This discovery not only may explain how a genetic mutation linked to Parkinson's causes the cells' death, but could also open the door to new therapeutic approaches for the malady.

29 Jul 2010

Scientists study mutant protein lump formation process to control brain cell death

Australian scientists have identified the behaviour of the mutant protein 'huntingtin' which leads to the fatal Huntington's disease providing potential targets to treat the disease, a University of Melbourne study reveals.

29 Jul 2010

Inhibition of MMPs can offer therapeutic benefit in Huntington's disease: Study

A new study reveals that an enzyme linked with multiple disorders is also involved in the generation of toxic, neuron-killing protein fragments in Huntington's disease (HD). The research, published by Cell Press in the July 29 issue of Neuron, provides insight into Huntington's pathology and proposes new therapeutic strategies for this devastating incurable disease.

29 Jul 2010

New study reveals potential role of TGF-β1 in kidney disease

Fibrosis in the kidney is one of the key causes of progressive renal failure. High levels of the inflammatory molecule TGF-β1 in the kidney tubules due to tissue damage can cause fibrosis as well as nephron degeneration, resulting in loss of kidney function. To clarify the mechanisms regulating TGF-β1-mediated renal fibrosis, Koesters et al expressed high levels of TGF-β1 in renal tubules of mice. Nephron degeneration in this system was mediated by decomposition of the tubular cells. These data suggest that TGF-β1 may play a novel role in cell death of renal cells, thus contributing to renal fibrosis.

28 Jul 2010

Calcium transfer impacts fuel mechanism for normal cell metabolism

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have described a previously unknown biological mechanism in cells that prevents them from cannibalizing themselves for fuel. The mechanism involves the fuel used by cells under normal conditions and relies on an ongoing transfer of calcium between two cell components via an ion channel. Without this transfer, cells start consuming themselves as a way of to get enough energy.

28 Jul 2010

Attaching transferrin to nanoparticle surface can kill cancer cells

A normally benign protein found in the human body appears to be able - when paired with nanoparticles - to zero in on and kill certain cancer cells, without having to also load those particles with chemotherapy drugs.The finding could lead to a new strategy for targeted cancer therapies, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists who made the discovery.

28 Jul 2010

Can-Fite's CF102 decreases HCV viral load in liver cancer patients

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd, a biotechnology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reported today that a significant decrease in HCV viral load was detected in 3 patients with liver cancer who are treated daily orally with CF102. The company is studying CF102 as a treatment for liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC). The results announced today relate to data which came out of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of CF102 in the treatment of patients with advanced HCC.

26 Jul 2010

New biophotonic imaging method monitors transformations of cellular macromolecules during apoptosis in real-time

Apoptosis, programmed cell death, is essential to normal development, healthy immune system function, and cancer prevention. The process dramatically transforms cellular structures but the limitations of conventional microscopy methods have kept much about this structural reorganization a mystery.

23 Jul 2010

Valproic acid halts vision loss in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School believe they may have found a new treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, a severe neurodegenerative disease of the retina that ultimately results in blindness. One of the more common retinal degenerative diseases, RP is caused by the death of photoreceptor cells and affects 1 in 4,000 people in the United States. RP typically manifests in young adulthood as night blindness or a loss of peripheral vision and in many cases progresses to legal blindness by age 40.

22 Jul 2010

Researchers identify a mechanism that explains different phases of CML progression

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have identified a mechanism that could explain how patients move into the worst phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia.

20 Jul 2010

QR Pharma to present positive clinical data from mechanism of action study in MCI at ICAD 2010

QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), is presenting a poster today on positive clinical data from its recent mechanism of action study in mild cognitive impaired (MCI) patients at the International Congress on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2010).

15 Jul 2010

Cigarette smoking affects entire networks of gene interaction: Research

The effects of smoking cigarettes on gene activity have been investigated in the largest study of its kind. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medical Genomics studied white blood cells taken from 1,240 people to identify 323 unique genes whose expression levels were significantly correlated with smoking behavior.

15 Jul 2010

BioInvent reports net revenues of SEK 63.1M for January - June 2010 period

BioInvent reached an important milestone when the results of a phase II trial of TB-402 following orthopaedic surgery, were reported in May. The data showed that TB-402 is statistically better at preventing thrombosis than enoxaparin, the current standard treatment. Supported by these good results, BioInvent and the company's partner, ThromboGenics, will now prioritise securing a development partner for the programme to ensure that the necessary resources is in place to take the product candidate to the market.

14 Jul 2010

Exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression, study finds

In the largest study of its kind, researchers at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research have found that exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression -- the process by which a gene's information is converted into the structures and functions of a cell. These alterations in response to smoking appear to have a wide-ranging negative influence on the immune system, and a strong involvement in processes related to cancer, cell death and metabolism.

14 Jul 2010

Life-or-death 'cell competition' process in mammalian tissue identified

A landmark study by Florida State University biologists, in collaboration with scientists in Britain, is the first to identify a life-or-death "cell competition" process in mammalian tissue that suppresses cancer by causing cancerous cells to kill themselves.

14 Jul 2010

Stimulation of single whisker prevents stroke in rats

Talk about surviving by a whisker. The most common type of stroke can be completely prevented in rats by stimulating a single whisker, according to a new study by UC Irvine researchers.

14 Jul 2010

Role of enzyme GSTP1-1 in progression of cancer, other diseases associated with increased cell proliferation

Telik, Inc. today announced the publication of a review in the journal, Cell Death and Differentiation: Glutathione transferases as mediators of signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation and cell death; http://www.nature.com/cdd/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/cdd201080a.html. This review describes recent advances in the understanding of the important role that the enzyme GSTP1-1 plays in the progression of cancer and other diseases associated with increased cell proliferation.

13 Jul 2010

New study on impact of bortezomib on mantle cell lymphoma

A new study by researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center sheds light on how bortezomib (VELCADE-), the first in a new class of cancer drugs known as proteasome inhibitors, works in mantle cell lymphoma. The study also provides preliminary evidence for which patients might benefit most from bortezomib.

13 Jul 2010

New research shows head size helps measure brain reserve, brain growth

New research shows that people with Alzheimer's disease who have large heads have better memory and thinking skills than those with the disease who have smaller heads, even when they have the same amount of brain cell death due to the disease. The research is published in the July 13, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

13 Jul 2010