Chemokine News and Research

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Chemokines are a family of small cytokines, or proteins secreted by cells. Proteins are classified as chemokines according to shared structural characteristics such as small size (they are all approximately 8-10 kilodaltons in size), and the presence of four cysteine residues in conserved locations that are key to forming their 3-dimensional shape.

Researchers document how immune system can counteract advancement of Alzheimer's

For the first time a research team at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Universitätsklinik Freiburg succeeded in documenting how the immune system can counteract the advancement of Alzheimer's disease.

17 Aug 2011

Researchers find new molecule that controls pain sensitivity from UVB irradiation

Researchers at King's College London have found a molecule in the body which controls sensitivity to pain from UVB irradiation, identifying it as a new target for medicines to treat pain caused by other common inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.

7 Jul 2011

ChemoCentryx CCX140 Phase II study on type 2 diabetes meets primary endpoint

ChemoCentryx, Inc. today announced that CCX140, the Company's novel, orally active CCR2 antagonist successfully met its primary endpoint of safety and tolerability and demonstrated clinical efficacy in a Phase II study in patients with type 2 diabetes on stable doses of metformin.

28 Jun 2011

University of Virginia professor speaks about gender disparity in abdominal aortic aneurysms

At the 65th Vascular Annual Meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery, Gilbert R. Upchurch, Jr., MD from the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, spoke about gender differences in abdominal aortic aneurysms.

18 Jun 2011

Researchers identify key molecule responsible for breast tumor metastasis

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a key player in the spread of breast cancer. The findings, published today in the online edition of Nature, identify a critical molecule that helps cancer spread beyond the primary tumor.

9 Jun 2011

Senescent melanoma cells express an inflammatory secretome

Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive and notoriously chemoresistant form of cancer. In this paper, Ohanna et al. reveal that anti-melanoma drugs may, paradoxically, induce a senescence-associated secretory profile ("secretome") that can ultimately promote metastasis and contribute to melanoma relapse.

6 Jun 2011

Dendritic cells secrete signal molecule that contributes to pathogenesis of atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease, and results from chronic inflammation of arterial vessel walls. An international collaboration led by Professor Christian Weber of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich and Privatdozentin Alma Zernecke of Würzburg University now shows that dendritic cells stimulate this process by derailing a mechanism that normally acts as a brake on immune reactions.

4 Jun 2011

PCF funds 14 new Creativity Awards for advanced prostate cancer research

The Prostate Cancer Foundation today announced that it has funded 14 new Creativity Awards for advanced prostate cancer research. These two-year awards are designed to support innovative research ideas that have the potential to achieve breakthroughs for improved prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.

2 Jun 2011

Affitech, Cancer Research Technology sign deal to advance therapeutic antibodies

Cancer Research Technology, the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, has signed a license agreement to grant antibody medicines company, Affitech A/S, exclusive rights to a CRT patent application and relevant know how to develop and use therapeutic antibodies that recognise and block the function of CCR4, a protein found on certain tumours - including early and late stage cervical cancer and oesophageal cancer.

4 May 2011

New nano-vault delivery system can fight cancer

UCLA scientists have discovered a way to wake up the immune system to fight cancer by delivering an immune system-stimulating protein in a nanoscale container called a vault directly into lung cancer tumors, harnessing the body's natural defenses to fight disease growth.

4 May 2011

Statins can help reduce lung damage in severe abdominal sepsis

Statins may be best known for their ability to reduce cholesterol, but a research report appearing in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that these same drugs could also play a crucial role in the reduction of lung damage resulting from severe abdominal sepsis and infection.

3 May 2011

Promising pain medication may decrease ability to fight off sepsis

Pain researchers from the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Medical Center have discovered that resiniferatoxin, a drug that has shown early promise as an option for chronic, severe pain sufferers, may decrease the body's ability to fight off bacterial infections, particularly sepsis.

27 Apr 2011

Research sheds new light on pathogenesis of diabetes

New research identifies a distinctive population of immune cells that may play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetes.

22 Apr 2011

European Patent Office grants ProtAffin key patent for CellJammer discovery technology

ProtAffin AG, a biotechnology company developing novel biopharmaceuticals for respiratory disease, inflammation and oncology, today announced that it has been granted a key patent by the European Patent Office protecting its CellJammer® discovery technology, which enables the development of a new class of biopharmaceuticals.

14 Mar 2011

New research: Reovirus infected melanoma cells secrete proteins that can kill cancer

Reoviruses are successfully being used in clinical trials to treat patients with cancer. Not only does the virus cause cancer cells to die, it also forces them to release pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, which in turn causes the patient's immune system to attack the disease.

21 Feb 2011

Researchers report promising new approach to treat diabetic wounds, bed sores

Loyola University Health System researchers are reporting on a promising new approach to treating diabetic wounds, bed sores, chronic ulcers and other slow-to-heal wounds.

8 Feb 2011

ChemoCentryx commences CCX832 Phase I trial in patients with psoriasis

ChemoCentryx, today announced the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial of CCX832, an orally-administered small molecule that is a potent and selective inhibitor of the chemoattractant receptor, ChemR23.

26 Jan 2011

Odontoblast cells are part of immune system, protect teeth from decay: New research

It is known that teeth can protect themselves, to some extent, from attack by bacteria but that inflammation within a tooth can be damaging and, in extreme cases, lead to abscess or death of the tooth. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Immunology shows that odontoblast cells are part of the immune system and fight to protect teeth from decay.

23 Jan 2011

New way to halt lung inflammation

Acute inflammation of the lung is a poorly recognized human disease that develops in surprising and unexpected ways. The acute lung injury (ALI) or adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a vital new concern for soldiers, but it can develop in anyone during a systemic infection, after severe trauma, as a result of bone fracture, following severe burns and in many other ways as well-- the initial cause may have nothing apparent to do with the lung itself.

18 Jan 2011

T.A. Sciences receives US patent for TA-65 to tackle aging process

Telomerase Activation Sciences, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,846,904 to the Geron Corporation. The patent covers the use of certain compounds to upregulate telomerase expression in cells.

14 Jan 2011