Helicase News and Research

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Study discovers new role for DNA2 enzyme in repair process

A biochemical analysis study has discovered a new role for the DNA2 enzyme.

6 Apr 2017

Scientists find new method for identifying therapeutic targets in cancers lacking tumor suppressor genes

A new method has been found for identifying therapeutic targets in cancers lacking specific key tumor suppressor genes.

7 Feb 2017

Genome-wide studies reveal evolutionary conserved enzyme facilitates DNA replication

Genome-wide studies of fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) suggest that the evolutionary conserved enzyme Pfh1 helicase facilitates DNA synthesis by tracking along with the replication apparatus, promoting intact DNA synthesis at hard-to-replicate sites and consequently suppressing DNA damage. The findings are published in PLOS Genetics.

12 Sep 2016

ERCC2 validated as chemotherapy response biomarker in bladder cancer

Somatic mutations in the helicase-encoding ERCC2 gene are associated with response to neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial bladder carcinoma.

17 Jun 2016

High-resolution image of Zika virus helicase may help develop antiviral drugs

A team led by researchers from Tianjin University has solved the structure of the Zika virus helicase, which is a key target for antiviral development. The research is published in Springer's journal Protein & Cell.

23 May 2016

Wresting back control of CHI3L1 protein could stave off cancer spread in mice

For cancer to spread, the cells that take off into the bloodstream must find a tissue that will permit them to thrive. They don't just go looking, though. Instead, they actively prepare the tissue, in one case by co-opting a protein that suppresses defenses the body would otherwise mount.

21 May 2016

Blocking the production of CHD4 protein may help increase effectiveness of AML treatments

Preclinical experiments led by a team of researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center have shown that blocking the production of a protein known as chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 4 (CHD4) may help increase the effectiveness of first-line treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a particularly lethal blood cancer that is increasing in incidence among older adults.

14 Oct 2015

FSU investigator solves cell division mystery

In the second part of his lab's recent one-two punch, Florida State University researcher Daniel Kaplan said he has solved a cell division mystery in a way that will intrigue the makers of cancer-fighting drugs.

25 Aug 2015

USC researchers develop yeast model to study gene mutation that disrupts DNA duplication

Researchers at USC have developed a yeast model to study a gene mutation that disrupts the duplication of DNA, causing massive damage to a cell's chromosomes, while somehow allowing the cell to continue dividing.

7 Aug 2015

Researchers one step closer to unraveling complex processes crucial to sperm development

Researchers are one step closer to unraveling the extraordinarily complex series of processes that leads to an event crucial to human reproduction: the creation of sperm.

5 Mar 2015

Scientists map DNA replication process at the most fundamental level

The proteins that drive DNA replication—the force behind cellular growth and reproduction—are some of the most complex machines on Earth.

17 Oct 2014

Study reveals intricate mechanisms involved in enzyme that governs DNA duplication

In a study published today in Genes & Development, Dr Christian Speck from the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre's DNA Replication group, in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), New York, reveal the intricate mechanisms involved in the enzyme that governs DNA duplication during cell division.

4 Aug 2014

Identification of new molecular mechanism indicates new ways to block uncontrolled cell division

1 Aug 2014

Researchers discover new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy

A European consortium of epilepsy researchers has reported the discovery of a new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy. Using a novel combination of technologies, including trio exome sequencing of patient/parental DNA and genetic studies in the tiny larvae of zebrafish, the EuroEPINOMICS RES consortium found that mutations in the gene CHD2 are responsible for a subset of epilepsy patients with symptoms similar to Dravet syndrome - a severe form of childhood epilepsy that is in many patients resistant to currently available anti-epileptic drugs.

23 Jan 2014

Research on flaviviruses could help in developing effective therapies for persistent infections

We generally do not devote much time to worrying about the problems faced by viruses, although understanding them may provide clues on how to combat diseases.

9 Oct 2013

Scientists discover new details of biochemical interactions necessary for cell division

Building on earlier work exploring the complex choreography by which intricate cellular proteins interact with and copy DNA prior to cell division, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have captured a key step-molecular images showing how the enzyme that unwinds the DNA double helix gets drawn to and wrapped around its target.

15 Jul 2013

Researchers uncover DNA damage checkpoint used by cells to monitor oxidatively damaged DNA

In current health lore, antioxidants are all the rage, as "everybody knows" that reducing the amount of "reactive oxygen species" -- cell-damaging molecules that are byproducts of cellular metabolism -- is critical to staying healthy. What everyone doesn't know is that our bodies already have a complex set of processes built into our cells that handle these harmful byproducts of living and repair the damage they cause.

15 Jun 2013

Researchers develop predictive biomarker to identify cancer patients who may respond to autophagy inhibitors

Autophagy, the process by which cells that are starved for food resort to chewing up their own damaged proteins and membranes and recycling them into fuel, has emerged as a key pathway that cancer cells use to survive in the face of assault by chemotherapy and radiation.

9 Apr 2013

Three Robert Wood Johnson members win Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Awards

Three members of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School faculty have been named 2013 recipients of the prestigious Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Awards, highlighting their expertise as exceptional educators or researchers.

1 Feb 2013

Interrupting key interaction between p68 and calcium-calmodulin inhibits cancer metastasis

Disrupting a key interaction between two types of proteins in cells inhibits the spread of cancerous cells, providing researchers with a new pathway toward developing cancer-fighting drugs, according to new findings by Georgia State University scientists.

31 Jan 2013