Cytoskeleton News and Research

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Akna protein plays a key role in the regulation of neural stem cells

The use of stem cells to repair organs is one of the foremost goals of modern regenerative medicine.

22 Feb 2019

Scientists uncover new mechanisms regulating neural stem cells

The use of stem cells to repair organs is one of the foremost goals of modern regenerative medicine. Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich have discovered that the protein Akna plays a key role in this process.

21 Feb 2019

The cytoskeleton of neurons found to play role in Alzheimer's disease

A researcher at the UPV/EHU has participated in a study describing what it is during the early stages of Alzheimer's that triggers the loss of dynamics and subsequent impairment of the dendritic spines, the compartments of the neurons responsible for receiving nerve impulses from other neurons.

17 Jan 2019

Study finds specific function of HIV protein that slows viral spread in early stages of infection

A study from a Massachusetts General Hospital research team has identified the specific function of a protein found in HIV and related viruses that appears to slow down viral spread in the earliest stages of infection.

11 Jan 2019

Scientists reveal molecular mechanism behind CVD in premature aging disease

Cardiovascular Diseases lead to atherosclerosis and heart failure and are prevalent age-related illnesses in humans. In a new study, published in the renowned journal JCI, scientists from Roland Foisner's group at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna, together with scientists from the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster for Cardiovascular Research at the Center for Biomedical Research, Medical University of Vienna and from the BOKU, Vienna describe the molecular mechanism behind CVD in the premature aging disease Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.

8 Jan 2019

Study provides new insight into generation of new neurons in adulthood

Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in collaboration with research groups in Finland, Canada, and Slovenia, have discovered a novel and unexpected function of nestin, the best known marker of neural stem cells.

3 Jan 2019

Research findings could lead to new targets for cancer-fighting therapeutics

A molecular pathway that's frequently mutated in many different forms of cancer becomes active when cells push parts of their membranes outward into bulging protrusions, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study.

11 Dec 2018

Study provides new insights into mechanisms used by cells to transmit genetic information

The integrity of the genome relies on the ability of the cells to build and maintain a well-defined boundary between the nuclear compartment and the cytoplasm, known as the nuclear envelope.

4 Dec 2018

New strategy for developing cell replacement therapies to combat type 1 diabetes

Scientists have discovered the signals that determine the fate of immature cells in the pancreas. The research shows that they are very mobile and that their destiny is strongly influenced by their immediate environment.

29 Nov 2018

Researchers discover new information on pathological mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have discovered a mechanism by which harmful tau protein aggregates are transmitted between neurons. Alongside amyloid plaques, tau aggregates in the brain are a significant factor in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Nov 2018

Researchers discover two proteins essential for development of skeletal muscle

All vertebrates need muscles to function; they are the most abundant tissue in the human body and are integral to movement.

12 Nov 2018

Mild exposure to single blast can induce meaningful pathogenic effects, study shows

As many as 300,000 United States service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 have suffered traumatic brain injury due to explosions. The vast majority of these blast-induced traumatic brain injuries, or bTBIs, were classified as mild.

12 Nov 2018

New study upends conventional theories about fluid nature of cell membranes

If you want to understand how the cell membrane works, Adam Cohen says, look no further than your kitchen. Cohen, a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and of Physics, is the lead author of a new study that upends the conventional theories about the fluid nature of cell membranes and how they react to tension.

2 Nov 2018

CNIO researchers link MASTL protein to origin of thrombocytopenia

The Cell Division and Cancer Group of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre has discovered that MASTL, the protein whose function in the organism has not yet been sufficiently investigated, plays an important role in controlling the cytoskeleton, the structure that gives shape to the cells, and enables their mobility and capacity for grouping.

1 Nov 2018

Study reveals unknown mechanism that protects tumor cells from NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity

Cancer cells have evolved multiple escape strategies to circumvent the body's immune defenses such as the attack by Natural Killer (NK) cells which normally swiftly kill abnormal cells by releasing cytotoxic products.

24 Oct 2018

Down syndrome may hold important clues to onset of Alzheimer's disease

At first glance, Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease, two severe brain abnormalities, may seem to have little in common. Down syndrome is a hereditary disease, the source of which has long been recognized--a triplication of chromosome 21.

17 Oct 2018

Scientists uncover how proteins meet on the cell membrane

Scripps Research scientists have uncovered the workings of a critical process in cell survival. Their study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show exactly how a protein called talin activates another critical protein, called integrin, to do its job on the cell membrane.

11 Oct 2018

Study reveals factors linked to the development of Crohn's disease

How cells talk to each other, and what they say, has long held fascination for Seema Khurana, professor of biology and biochemistry.

5 Oct 2018

Researchers create photoswitchable fluorescent proteins with optical properties

Researchers developed fluorescent proteins that can be controlled by orange and green light. These proteins will help to study processes in living cells. The work was supported by Russian Science Foundation grant, and the results were published in Nature Methods.

28 Sep 2018

Drosophila study shows chromosomal instability promotes invasive behavior in human tumors

Metastatic tumors are characterized by a high degree of chromosomal instability--that is to say a constant change in the number and structure of chromosomes they hold. In spite of this observation, it is unknown whether chromosomal instability contributes to the metastatic process.

26 Sep 2018