Intracellular News and Research

RSS

Key genes identified that enable tuberculosis infection to spread

Scientists in India, led by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholar, have identified five key genes that enable Mycobacterium tuberculosis to acquire the iron it needs to sustain growth and promote infection

5 Feb 2006

Human body has a unique immune system response to foreign DNA

The human body has a unique immune system response to foreign DNA, suggesting that DNA viruses and RNA viruses are detected by different mechanisms, Yale School of Medicine researchers report this week in Immunity.

23 Jan 2006

Histidine may be key to new therapies for cardiovascular disease

It's just one little amino acid, but it makes all the difference in protecting the heart from the harmful effects of heart attack and cardiac failure. Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School suggest this amino acid, called histidine, could be the key to a new therapy for cardiovascular disease

23 Jan 2006

Identification of Gli protein degradation signals that directly affect tumor latency

Dr. Anthony E. Oro and colleagues (Stanford University) have identified two key Gli protein degradation signals that directly affect tumor latency in a mouse model of human skin cancer.

22 Jan 2006

Scientists design a fluorescent sensor capable of measuring intracellular acidity

The colouring agents traditionally used to stain organic tissues are no longer sufficient to meet today’s needs. The study of cell metabolism can only advance with better tools than those currently available.

16 Jan 2006

Study explains complex infection fighting mechanism

Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Nature Immunology how infection fighting mechanisms in the body can distinguish between a virus and the healthy body, shedding new light on auto immune disorders.

11 Jan 2006

Aquaporin related to obesity

Dr. Gema Fruhbeck, director of the Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of the University of Navarra, has published a commentary in the latest issue of Nature. The article presents aquaporin as a new modulator of the biology of the adipocyte.

21 Dec 2005

Gene therapy tackles hereditary spastic paraplegia

Elena Rugarli and colleagues from the National Neurological Institute in Milan have used gene therapy to save sensory and skeletal muscle nerve fibers from degeneration in mice with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP).

15 Dec 2005

New understanding of Mediterranean spotted fever

New research by a team of scientists in France and the United States has identified both the bacterial and host receptor proteins that enable Rickettsia conorii, the Mediterranean spotted fever pathogen, to enter cells.

15 Dec 2005

Chlamydia loves lipid droplets

Invasive bacterial pathogens, the Chlamydiae know us very, very well. The Chlamydiae learned to parasitize eukaryotic cells half a billion years ago by reprogramming cellular functions from within.

13 Dec 2005

Compound from Salinispora (marine bacteria) kills blood cancer cells

An anti-cancer compound derived from bacteria dwelling in ocean-bottom sediments appears in laboratory tests to be a potent killer of drug-resistant multiple myeloma cells, and potentially with less toxicity than current treatments, report Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers in the November issue of Cancer Cell.

21 Nov 2005

Haphazard activation of secondary signaling pathways may fuel cancer's genesis

When found at abnormally high concentrations, two proteins implicated in many human cancers have the potential to spur indiscriminate biochemical signaling inside cells, chemists at Harvard University have found.

16 Nov 2005

Discovery of novel form of regulation of the GLI1 gene

The Quaking gene, first described as a mutation in mice that causes rapid tremor, is thought to suppress tumor formation and protect humans from cancer.

14 Nov 2005

Scientists gain better understanding of how repetitive stretching of endothelial cells that line arteries can make them healthy and resistant to vascular diseases

UCSD researchers stretched cells in a workout chamber the size of a credit card to gain a better understanding of how repetitive stretching of endothelial cells that line arteries can make them healthy and resistant to vascular diseases.

24 Oct 2005

Blocking a signaling lipid can keep nerves from developing and may even cause neurons to die

Blocking a signaling lipid can keep nerves from developing the arm-like extensions they need to wire the body and may even cause neurons to die, researchers have found.

24 Oct 2005

Study identifies molecular switch that integrates cell survival signals from multiple intracellular signaling pathways

The finding has substantial clinical significance, as mutations in these cell survival-signaling pathways are associated with many human cancers, and a better understanding of how these pathways converge to regulate the delicate balance between cell proliferation and cell death may lead to development of more effective cancer therapies.

17 Oct 2005

Researchers shed light on a key molecular switch in T helper cells

Defects in immune system cells called T helper cells may lead to diseases characterized by a faulty inflammatory response such as autoimmunity and asthma. Understanding the molecular steps involved in how T helper cells mature may help researchers develop treatments for these diseases.

17 Oct 2005

Real dangers from environmental toxins most likely occur early in life

Exposure of developing fetuses and newborns to low levels of environmental toxins such as lead, mercury and dioxin, as well as nicotine and ethanol, could be behind the recent sharp rises in asthma, allergies and autoimmune disorders like lupus, says a Cornell University researcher.

10 Oct 2005

Discovery of mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases

Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have discovered a mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or diabetes.

3 Oct 2005