DNA Damage News and Research

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Collision of fast and slow protein-trains cause major DNA derailment

Scientists have published results that will forever change the way researchers view the interplay between gene expression, DNA replication and the prevention of DNA damage.

25 Feb 2011

Cancer-causing retrovirus prolongs survival of host cells

A cancer-causing retrovirus exploits key proteins in its host cells to extend the life of those cells, thereby prolonging its own survival and ability to spread, according to a new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) and Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

23 Feb 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Study: Overexpression of EZH2 protein promotes breast cancer progression

An essential protein for normal stem cell renewal also promotes the growth of breast cancer stem cells when it's overproduced in those cells, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the February edition of Cancer Cell.

16 Feb 2011

Study: Active wound healing can lead to increased risk of basal cell carcinoma in skin

Processes that are involved in active wound healing can lead to an increased risk for basal cell carcinoma in the skin. This is the conclusion of a recent study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal PNAS.

15 Feb 2011

Researcher discovers mechanism how p53 human genome gets inactivated in cancerous cells

One of the most important genes in the human genome is called p53 and its function is to suppress tumours, according to Roger Leng, a researcher in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. Leng has discovered the mechanism by which p53 is inactivated in cancerous cells, allowing tumours to grow.

15 Feb 2011

Scientists develop novel treatment strategy for multiple myeloma

Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have developed a novel treatment strategy for multiple myeloma that pairs two targeted agents to kill cancer cells. The study's findings, published in today's edition of the journal "Blood," are the first to demonstrate the synergistic, anti-myeloma effects of this combination regimen both in vitro and in vivo.

11 Feb 2011

Study reveals how MMSET gene enables disease-causing mutations to occur

For several decades, researchers have been linking genetic mutations to diseases ranging from cancer to developmental abnormalities. What hasn't been clear, however, is how the body's genome sustains such destructive glitches in the first place.

3 Feb 2011

Human model of rare genetic disease reveals new clues to aging process

Scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) in Singapore and the University of Hong Kong's Department of Medicine have produced the world's first human cell model of progeria, a disease resulting in severe premature ageing in one in four to eight million children worldwide. This model has allowed them to make new discoveries concerning the mechanism by which progeria works.

25 Jan 2011

UNC scientists discover how chaperone enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate DNA damage

UNC scientists who study how cells repair damage from environmental factors like sunlight and cigarette smoke have discovered how a "chaperone" enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate the DNA damage that leads to cancer and other diseases.

19 Jan 2011

New patented technique offers unprecedented view of DNA damage

New technology providing the first view of DNA damage throughout the entire human genome developed by Cardiff University scientists could offer a valuable new insight into the development and treatment of conditions like cancer.

19 Jan 2011

Inhibiting miR-193a decreases tumor growth in SCC

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common type of skin cancer. In this paper, Leif Ellisen and colleagues at Mass General Hospital investigated the p53-related proteins p63 and p73 in SCC cells, and discovered a feedback loop between p63, microRNAs (miRs), and p73. In a model of SCC, they found that inhibiting one of these miRs decreased tumor growth and made the cells more sensitive to chemotherapy, highlighting a new potential therapeutic target.

11 Jan 2011

Single cellular crisis shatters chromosomes in cancer causation

Remarkable new research overthrows the conventional view that cancer always develops in a steady, stepwise progression. It shows that in some cancers, the genome can be shattered into hundreds of fragments in a single cellular catastrophe, wreaking mutation on a massive scale.

7 Jan 2011

Researchers demonstrate that monensin antibiotic prevents prostate cancer cell growth

Researchers from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Turku have demonstrated that an antibiotic called "monensin" prevents the growth of prostate cancer cells. Monensin is used in the meat and dairy industry, for example.

20 Dec 2010

New findings says TRIM24 protein plays active role in breast cancer formation

The recently identified TRIM24 protein plays an active role in pushing normal breast cells into rapid cell proliferation and, potentially, into breast cancer.

16 Dec 2010

Ultraviolet light activates enzyme that helps skin cancer cells survive, proliferate: Researchers

The sun's ultraviolet light activates an enzyme that helps skin cancer cells survive and proliferate, researchers report.

8 Dec 2010

Drugs that target DNA in later-stage cancers could be effective in treating breast tumors

Breast cancers that arise sporadically, rather than through inheritance of certain genes, likely start with defects of DNA repair mechanisms that allow environmentally triggered mutations to accumulate, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

30 Nov 2010

Ageing reversed in mice: Study

A scientific team at Harvard-affiliated medical centers genetically manipulated mice to age faster. Then they used gene therapy to lengthen telomeres. Telomeres are compounds found at the ends of strands of DNA that are related to age. This lengthening of telomeres reversed age-related problems such as decreased brain function and infertility.

29 Nov 2010

Study sheds light on poorly understood aspect of interaction of HIV with natural killer cells

Natural killer cells are major weapons in the body's immune system. They keep the body healthy by knocking off tumors and cells infected with viruses, bombarding them with tiny lethal pellets. But natural killer cells are powerless against HIV, a fact that has bedeviled science for over 20 years.

20 Nov 2010

ZIOPHARM announces data on darinaparsin efficacy for solid tumors at EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. announced today important new preclinical data on the efficacy of darinaparsin (ZinaparTM, or ZIO-101) in various solid tumor models delivered at the EORTC-NCI-AACR International Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics being held in Berlin, Germany.

19 Nov 2010