Fibroblast News and Research

RSS

Fibroblasts are connective tissue cells which secrete an extracellular matrix rich in collagen and other macromolecules.

Columbia researchers identify 18 new genes that drive glioblastoma multiforme

A team of researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center has identified 18 new genes responsible for driving glioblastoma multiforme, the most common-and most aggressive-form of brain cancer in adults. The study was published August 5, 2013, in Nature Genetics.

6 Aug 2013

New finding suggests potential to improve safety, performance of reprogrammed cells

The enormous promise of regenerative medicine is matched by equally enormous challenges. But a new finding by a team of researchers led by Weill Cornell Medical College has the potential to improve both the safety and performance of reprogrammed cells.

2 Aug 2013

NIH expands CRIC study to identify risk factors for progression of early stage CKD

Researchers from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort study are embarking on another five years of work to identify risk factors for progression of early stage chronic kidney disease, better understand the importance of reduced kidney function in older persons, and learn what role CKD may play in other illnesses that require hospitalization. CRIC is supported by the National Institutes of Health.

30 Jul 2013

Study may lead to personalized treatments for mitochondrial energy disorders

Researchers have identified a master network of signaling molecules that acts like a "fuse box" to regulate the cellular effects of defective energy flow in mitochondrial respiratory chain diseases—a diverse set of difficult-to-treat genetic-based energy disorders.

25 Jul 2013

Discovery provides evidence that genetic defect responsible for Down syndrome can be suppressed

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School are the first to establish that a naturally occurring X chromosome "off switch" can be rerouted to neutralize the extra chromosome responsible for trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by cognitive impairment.

18 Jul 2013

p53 restoration of function drug candidate: an interview with Dr. Wayne Danter, MD, FRCPC President and CEO of Critical Outcome Technologies

COTI-2 is a computer-designed small molecule that was discovered by our artificial intelligence drug discovery platform called CHEMSAS.

8 Jul 2013

FGF21 endocrine hormone which reduces glucose levels also protects against cardiac diseases in mice

A research group has found that FGF21, an endocrine factor which reduces glucose levels, protects against cardiac diseases in mice. The research, published online on the journal Nature Communications, was led by Francesc Villarroya, professor from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the UB and Director of the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), affiliated centre with the campus of international excellence BKC.

18 Jun 2013

Mount Sinai researchers produce cells that resemble hematopoietic stem cells

By transferring four genes into mouse fibroblast cells, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have produced cells that resemble hematopoietic stem cells, which produce millions of new blood cells in the human body every day.

14 Jun 2013

Novel abnormalities in FGFR gene identified in a spectrum of cancers

Novel abnormalities in the FGFR gene, called FGFR fusions, were identified in a spectrum of cancers, and preliminary results with cancer cells harboring FGFR fusions suggested that some patients with these cancers may benefit from treatment with FGFR inhibitor drugs, according to data published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

10 Jun 2013

Researchers solve two longstanding challenges in liver tissue engineering

Prometheus, the mythological figure who stole fire from the gods, was punished for this theft by being bound to a rock. Each day, an eagle swept down and fed on his liver, which then grew back to be eaten again the next day.

3 Jun 2013

Boehringer Ingelheim to highlight respiratory research work at ATS 2013

Boehringer Ingelheim will contribute to advancing the scientific discussion in respiratory disease at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Philadelphia, PA, May 17 – 22.

20 May 2013

New research reveals how acute stress primes brain for improved performance

Overworked and stressed out? Look on the bright side. Some stress is good for you. "You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it's not," said Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

17 Apr 2013

Researchers discover new technique that directly converts skin cells into functional brain cells

Researchers at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine have discovered a technique that directly converts skin cells to the type of brain cells destroyed in patients with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other so-called myelin disorders.

15 Apr 2013

Researchers present data on ARQ 092 at 2013 AACR Annual Meeting

Researchers presented data today on ARQ 092, an AKT inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical development by ArQule, Inc. at the AACR Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10, showing that this novel, oral agent inhibits the AKT pathway and has a manageable safety profile in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial.

10 Apr 2013

UC Davis scientists find mechanism in metabolized omega-3 fatty acid that helps combat cancer

A team of UC Davis scientists has found that a product resulting from a metabolized omega-3 fatty acid helps combat cancer by cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients that fuel tumor growth and spread of the disease.

3 Apr 2013

Environmental enrichment increases endogenous cell migration, facilitates functional repair

A team of Korean researchers investigated whether "environmental enrichment" can improve the neurobehavioral function of six week-old mice after transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells to treat hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, and found that brain repair (neurogenesis) was aided in some animals through exercise-induced fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), a strong pro-angiogenic factor.

28 Mar 2013

CPF and PFF to partner with ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and the American Thoracic Society-the world's leading professional organization for pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine-today announced that the CPF and the PFF will again partner with the ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research.

21 Mar 2013

SRSF1 protein can prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53

Some cellular proteins have multiple, and occasionally opposing, functions. Professor Adrian Krainer and colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory demonstrate in a paper published online today in Molecular Cell that the oncogenic protein SRSF1 can also trigger a stop in cell growth and prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53, the powerful tumor-suppressor protein.

8 Mar 2013

New bio-mimicking therapeutics could help treat skin wounds

In "before" and "after" photos from advertisements for wound-healing ointments, bandages and antibiotic creams, we see an injury transformed from an inflamed red gash to smooth and flawless skin. What we don't appreciate is the vital role that our own natural biomolecules play in the healing process, including their contribution to the growth of new cells and the development of new blood vessels that provide nutrients to those cells.

21 Feb 2013

Scientists explore development of unique dentition of 'toothed whales'

Whales are mammals, but they don't look like the mammals living around us, as they have a triangular fluke for tail, no hind legs and no body hair. And inside their mouths, their teeth are unfamiliar too - being much simpler and 'peg like'. A multidisciplinary team of researchers have now married together the fossil record and the embryonic development process to investigate how the whale got its teeth.

19 Feb 2013