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.

Blocking a key molecule protects breast implants, permanent catheters, pacemakers and artificial joints from rejection and damage by the body

Blocking a key molecule protects breast implants, permanent catheters, pacemakers, artificial joints, glucose sensors for diabetics, and other biomaterials from rejection and damage by the body, according to a study published this month in The American Journal of Pathology.

20 Dec 2004

Stem cells use inflammatory signals to find injured tissue

A joint effort led by stem cell biologist Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., of The Burnham Institute, and Samia J. Khoury, M.D., of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, report data suggesting that stem cells use inflammatory signals to “know” where they must home.

20 Dec 2004

Brain inflammation is a sign of autism

A new study by scientists at Johns Hopkins shows that brain inflammation is a sign of autism. The findings are reported in the online edition of Annals of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Neurological Association.

15 Nov 2004

Link between immune protein and longer survival in melanoma patients

Immune responses to prevent or delay the spread of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, are more likely to prolong survival in patients if their immune cells carry a special kind of marker on the surface, according to a team of researchers at the University of Virginia Health System.

5 Nov 2004

Highly concentrated solution of chemical messengers could block male to female HIV transmission

Researchers in the U.S have shown that it may be possible to block the transmission of the HIV virus from a man to a woman by using a highly concentrated solution of chemical messengers that attract white blood cells to the site of infection.

16 Oct 2004

Stem cell research may one day help cerebral palsy

Natural chemicals that assist healing may one day help transplanted adult stem cells integrate into an injured brain, helping children with cerebral palsy recover lost function, according to researchers at the Medical College of Georgia.

18 Aug 2004

Red wine is much better for you than gin

Red wine contains many complex compounds including polyphenols, which are absent from gin. They found that drinking red wine had a much greater effect in lowering levels in the bloodstream of so-called “anti-inflammatory” substances that are risk factors in the development of heart disease and stroke.

12 Aug 2004

New biotech alliance to focus on diseases of nerve injury and pain

NeuroTargets Ltd, a discovery-led biotechnology company ‘spun-out’ from the University of Bristol, has formed an exciting new alliance with BioFocus plc, a world leader in collaborative drug discovery, to focus on diseases of nerve injury and pain.

11 Aug 2004

Chemotherapy aimed at both cancer cells and their genetically normal cellular 'microenvironment' might improve the success of breast cancer treatment

In the first comprehensive survey of gene activity in each cell type composing normal and malignant breast tissue, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified genes in non-cancerous supporting cells that can spur the growth of breast cancer cells.

20 Jul 2004

Harmless virus known as GBV-C slows the progression of HIV

Iowa City Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and University of Iowa (UI) researchers have unlocked part of the mystery of how a harmless virus known as GBV-C slows the progression of HIV and prolongs survival for many patients.

17 Jun 2004

Jefferson scientists learn how HIV causes dementia

Ever since the AIDS epidemic began more than two decades ago, scientists have been trying to understand why as many as one-quarter of those infected with HIV develop dementia.

19 Apr 2004

New Research Information on Tumor Necrosis Therapy

Researchers for Peregrine Pharmaceuticals presented today at the Strategic Research Institute’s Clinical-Stage Product Partnering Summit in La Jolla, CA a summary of clinical experience with Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT). The TNT technology is being developed in the U.S. and Europe by Peregrine under the trade name Cotara™. Over 200 patients have been treated with TNT world-wide and a TNT product has been approved to treat grade III or IV advanced lung cancer in the People’s Republic of China. A Cotara registration study for brain cancer has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a Phase I colorectal cancer study is on-going at Stanford University Medical Center.

25 Mar 2004