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Researchers discover new gene for Sensenbrenner syndrome

Dutch researchers of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen found a new gene for Sensenbrenner syndrome (Journal of Medical Genetics, 2011 Mar 4). The mutation adds support to the hypothesis that defects in ciliar transport are the cause of the disease. Project leader Dr. Heleen H. Arts is supported by a Kolff Junior Postdoc Grant of the Dutch Kidney Foundation.

14 Mar 2011

New discovery: GPCR family of proteins can recognize and respond to wide array of signals

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined a new structure from a medically important superfamily of proteins. The structure should help instruct the design of a new kind of therapeutics for conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to inflammation.

11 Mar 2011

New study finds liver instead of the brain as source of Alzheimer’s plaques

Unexpected results from a Scripps Research Institute and ModGene, LLC study could completely alter scientists' ideas about Alzheimer's disease—pointing to the liver instead of the brain as the source of the "amyloid" that deposits as brain plaques associated with this devastating condition. The findings could offer a relatively simple approach for Alzheimer's prevention and treatment.

4 Mar 2011

TCD announces first patient treated in its TCD-717 Phase I trial

Traslational Cancer Drugs Pharma, S.L. (“TCD”) announced today that the first patient was treated on Friday the 18th of February with TCD-717 in a Phase I study performed in patients with advanced solid tumors. TCD-717 is a first-in-class, small molecule that precisely inhibits Choline Kinase Alpha, an enzyme heavily involved in the carcinogenic process. A total of 30 patients are planned to be treated in the trial, which will be conducted in accordance with FDA approval, in two leading medical centers in the U.S. The Principal Investigators are Dr. Julie Brahmer at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; and Dr. Patricia LoRusso at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

28 Feb 2011

How Huntington's disease proteins move from cell to cell

One bad apple is all it takes to spoil the barrel. And one misfolded protein may be all that's necessary to corrupt other proteins, forming large aggregations linked to several incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

19 Feb 2011

Researchers identify normal movement mechanisms of PrPC in brain

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the motors that move non-infectious prion proteins (PrPC) - found within many mammalian cells - up and down long, neuronal transport pathways.

18 Feb 2011

Study explores role of proline containing peptides in inhibiting anti-apoptotic function of XIAP

Basic and translational research on cancer, and development of new cancer therapeutics, has focused on different aspects of cancer cellular function. One area of focus is the life and death of a cancer cell. Apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death, is a fundamental process of cells including cancer cells. The signal transduction pathways of apoptosis involve many different proteins and their interactions with each other.

16 Feb 2011

Scientists generate beating heart cells from skin cells of young patients with severe genetic heart defect

Using skin cells from young patients who have a severe genetic heart defect, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have generated beating heart cells that carry the same genetic mutation. The newly created human heart cells - cardiomyocytes - allowed the researchers for the first time to examine and characterize the disorder at the cellular level.

10 Feb 2011

Single molecule imaging movies of living cell membranes clarify enigma surrounding receptor molecule behaviors

Unprecedented single molecule imaging movies of living cell membranes, taken by a research team based at Kyoto University and the University of New Mexico, have clarified a decades-old enigma surrounding receptor molecule behaviors. The results, appearing in the latest issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, promise to open the door to new possibilities for drug development.

9 Feb 2011

Engineered cells take control of the cells and microenvironment following transplantation

In work that could jumpstart the promising field of cell therapy, in which cells are transplanted into the body to treat a variety of diseases and tissue defects, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have engineered cells that could solve one of the key challenges associated with the procedure: control of the cells and their microenvironment following transplantation.

4 Feb 2011

Inovio publishes scientific paper detailing SynCon DNA vaccine preclinical study for prostate cancer

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today the publication of a scientific paper in the journal Human Vaccines detailing potent immune responses in a preclinical study of Inovio's SynCon DNA vaccine for prostate cancer targeting two antigens.

2 Feb 2011

Inovio announces regulatory approval for Phase 2 trial to treat leukemia using new vaccine delivery device

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today the regulatory approval of a Phase 2 clinical trial to treat leukemia utilizing Inovio's new ELGEN 1000 automated vaccine delivery device.

31 Jan 2011

Both absence of insulin and resistance to insulin are associated with defects in FAS

A key mechanism that appears to contribute to blood vessel damage in people with diabetes has been identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

28 Jan 2011

New research reveals dynamics behind signal transmission in brain

Surprising rate at which neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex delete sensory information. The dynamics behind signal transmission in the brain are extremely chaotic. This conclusion has been reached by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization at the University of Göttingen and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Göttingen.

24 Jan 2011

Researchers map complex choreography used by immune system's T cells to recognize pathogens

Researchers have for the first time mapped the complex choreography used by the immune system's T cells to recognize pathogens while avoiding attacks on the body's own cells.

21 Jan 2011

Scientists produce tiny molecular 'binder' that may help develop more efficient drugs

Developing new drugs is a highly costly and time-consuming process. Of 20 candidates, 19 are normally rejected because they don't work or have unwanted side effects. Now a research team led by Professor Lars Baltzer at Uppsala University has produced a tiny molecular "binder" that has the potential to change this landscape radically.

19 Jan 2011

Study may help develop novel ways to combat lipotoxic cardiomyopathy, related heart disease

A team led by Rolf Bodmer, Ph.D. at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute recently unraveled an alternative pathway to lipotoxic cardiomyopathy in fruit flies - a genetic mechanism that occurs independently of a diet high in fat.

19 Jan 2011

Researchers find kidney-specific gene defects may increase risk of heart failure

Scientists have identified the first DNA sequence variant common in the population that is not only associated with an increased risk of heart failure, but appears to play a role in causing it.

18 Jan 2011

New discovery has brought dream of transforming measles virus against cancer

When most people in the developed world think of measles, what comes to mind is only a dim memory of a vaccination at a pediatrician's office. But while childhood vaccination has virtually eliminated measles from North America and much of Europe, researchers remain interested in the virus.

13 Jan 2011

Scientists introduce DNA directly into cell nucleus using protein nanodisks

One of the challenges of gene therapy - a set of methodologies aimed at treating several nucleic acid diseases - is to assure that this material arrives directly to the nucleus of the cell without losing a substantial amount along the way and without producing any undesired side effects. With this aim, scientists experiment with the use of different types of vectors, molecules capable of transporting genetic material to the correct place.

12 Jan 2011