Cysteine News and Research

RSS

Discovery of key protein regulator of inflammation and cell death

Reporting in the journal Nature , researchers led by Emad Alnemri, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, discovered a key protein component involved in inflammation.

23 Jan 2009

Early photon tomography provides clearer picture of tumors in living animals

Fluorescent molecules - i.e. substances which can be stimulated to emit light - are extremely valuable tools in biological research and medical diagnosis.

10 Dec 2008

Potential new target for drugs to prevent HIV-associated dementia

A new study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has clarified how two major variants of HIV differ in their ability to cause neurologic complications.

3 Dec 2008

Scientists map steps to block enzyme phosphodiesterase 5's action in heart failure

Taking a cue from the way drugs like Viagra put the biological brakes on a key enzyme involved in heart failure, scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out a key chemical step involved in blocking the enzyme.

12 Nov 2008

Scientists confirm a molecular clipping mechanism behind stem cell development

Stem cells don't just become a part of the liver or the brain in a flash; it takes a complex molecular choreography and requires that specific genes be switched on and off at specific times.

6 Nov 2008

Study specifies chemical pathway for ions through the cell membrane

Life ultimately depends on the traffic of tiny charged particles through porous proteins studding the membrane surrounding every cell. In research published in Nature, scientists at The Rockefeller University have for the first time mapped a stepping-stone pathway of amino acids that these charged particles, or ions, follow across cell membranes.

13 Oct 2008

Tracking down the cause of Mad Cow disease - first synthetic prion protein with an anchor

The cause of diseases such as BSE in cattle and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans is a prion protein. This protein attaches to cell membranes by way of an anchor made of sugar and lipid components (a glycosylphosphatidylinositol, GPI) anchor. The anchoring of the prions seems to have a strong influence on the transformation of the normal form of the protein into its pathogenic form, which causes scrapie and mad cow disease.

12 Oct 2008

Injections of N-acetyl cysteine may help 'chemobrain'

Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University, researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can prevent the memory loss that breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce.

7 Sep 2008

Researchers find key mechanism of cell damage in aging and disease

Researchers have taken a first snapshot of how a class of highly reactive molecules inflicts cellular damage as part of aging, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and Alzheimer's disease to name a few. According to a study published today in the journal Cell, researchers have discovered a tool that can monitor related damage and determine the degree to which antioxidant drugs effectively combat disease.

24 Jul 2008

Two new clinical trials show promise for basal cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer

Clinical researchers at Scottsdale Healthcare and TGen have announced the results of two clinical trials that show promise for patients battling cancer.

16 Apr 2008

New insights into anti-cancer effects of NSAIDs

Researchers at the National Sun Yat-Sen University and Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan have revealed a new mechanism by which nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) attenuate tumor invasion and metastasis.

28 Mar 2008

U-M scientists develop tool to probe role of oxidative stress in aging, disease

Oxygen, although essential for human life, can turn into an aggressive chemical that is outright toxic to important molecules inside our cells.

18 Feb 2008

How does insulin influence resistin?

Obesity is a worldwide health problem directly linked to several diseases such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

17 Jan 2008

Homocysteine appears to be play a part in retinal damage and vision loss

Homocysteine, an amino acid believed to contribute to heart attack, stroke and dementia, likely also is a player in retinal damage and vision loss, researchers say.

16 Oct 2007

Process of necrosis redefined in landmark study

A new study led by investigators from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine demonstrates that the process of necrosis, long thought to be a chaotic, irreversible pathway to cell death, may actually be triggered as part of a regulated response to stress by a powerful protein, SRP-6, that can potentially halt necrosis in its path.

21 Sep 2007

Amino acid, N-acetyl cysteine may curb addiction of pathological gamblers

University of Minnesota researchers have discovered that a common amino acid, available as a health food supplement, may help curb pathological gamblers' addiction.

12 Sep 2007

A molecular probe that may one day light up tumors while surgery is in progress

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed a molecular probe that sets aglow tumor cells within living animals. Their goal is to use the probe to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases.

10 Sep 2007

breakthrough in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis

Researchers at Queen Mary University London and the University of Leicester and have announced a potential breakthrough in the treatment of a rare but devastating medical condition that can affect children and young people.

5 Jun 2007

Breakthrough in idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis

3 Jun 2007

Snake venom toxin as a treatment for prostate cancer

This certainly sounds unusual, but Dr. Son and colleagues report on the effectiveness of the snake venom toxin (SVT) Vipera lebetina turanica in the inhibition of androgen-independent prostate cancer (AICAP) in the February 2007 issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics .

16 Apr 2007