Ligase News and Research

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Key enzyme in non-small cell lung cancers could make standard chemotherapy more effective

Scientists at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit today presented a study at the American Association for Cancer Research's 102nd Annual Meeting 2011 that identifies a key enzyme in non-small cell lung cancers that could potentially make standard chemotherapy more effective against this highly deadly disease.

7 Apr 2011

New signaling pathway discovery sheds light on chronic dermatitis

A new signaling pathway, which is important for the regulation of the immune response and inflammation, was discovered by an international team of scientists led by prof Ivan Dikic from the Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.

1 Apr 2011

NIH awards TriLink $100,000 Phase I SBIR Grant to develop Hot Start approach for Ligase Chain Reaction

TriLink BioTechnologies, Inc. was recently awarded a Phase I SBIR Grant of approximately $100,000 by the National Institutes of Health to develop a Hot Start approach for Ligase Chain Reaction (LCR). Hot Start LCR will employ chemically modified ligation components containing thermolabile protecting groups to eliminate common performance problems seen in LCR, such as false-positive signals and non-specificity.

16 Mar 2011

Novel gene therapy can promote removal of amyloid plaques and prevent Alzheimer's disease

Gene therapy that boosts the ability of brain cells to gobble up toxic proteins prevents development of Alzheimer's disease in mice that are predestined to develop it, report researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the treatment - which is given just once - could potentially do the same in people at the beginning stages of the disease.

5 Mar 2011

cFLIP protein makes breast cancer cells resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis

Researchers at the Andalusian Institute for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine and the University of Granada found that cFLIP -an inhibitor of death ligand-induced apoptosis- is not only essential in breast tumor cells resistance to TRAIL treatments (a death ligand with a potent therapeutic potential against cancer), but this protein is also key to the survival of such cancer cells.

14 Dec 2010

New findings provide insight into brain development

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have identified key components of a signaling pathway that controls the departure of neurons from the brain niche where they form and allows these cells to start migrating to their final destination. Defects in this system affect the architecture of the brain and are associated with epilepsy, mental retardation and perhaps malignant brain tumors.

25 Nov 2010

Research on Rictor protein may provide new molecular target for cancer treatment

The discovery that a protein called Rictor plays a key role in destroying a close cousin of the AKT oncogene could provide scientists with a new molecular target for treating certain cancers, including breast cancer. Described in the September 2010 issue of the journal Molecular Cell, the study was led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

29 Oct 2010

Cell quality control mechanism research paves way for new understanding of neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have solved a long-standing mystery of how cells conduct "quality control" to eliminate the toxic effects of a certain kind of error in protein production. The findings may lead to a better understanding of a host of neurodegenerative diseases.

13 Sep 2010

Researchers find role of Vpr protein in HIV infection

Dr. Éric A. Cohen, Director of the Human Retrovirology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), and his team published yesterday, in the online open-access journal PLos Pathogens, the results of their most recent research on the role of the Vpr protein in HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection and AIDS (acquired autoimmune deficiency syndrome).

3 Sep 2010

Elevation of Smurf1 may play a role in molecular basis of PAH: Study

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease, marked by shortness of breath and fatigue which can be fatal if untreated. Increased pressure in the pulmonary artery and its branches is associated with dysfunctional growth control of endothelial and smooth muscle cells leading to excessive thickening of the blood vessel wall, obliteration of the lumen and right heart failure.

22 Jun 2010

Four-protein complex provides new target for thwarting cancer migration, invasion

The molecular machinery that switches on a gene known to cause breast cancer to spread and invade other organs has been identified by an international team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The paper was published Sunday in Nature Cell Biology's advanced online publication.

16 Apr 2010

Rigel Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $0.48 per share for fourth-quarter 2009

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

2 Mar 2010

Postdoctoral scientists receive prestigious award; grants totaling $1.54 million will help in funding innovative projects

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting exceptional early career researchers and innovative cancer research, named 11 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its November 2009 Fellowship Award Committee review.

22 Jan 2010

Rigel Pharmaceuticals announces milestone payment from Daiichi Sankyo

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has received a milestone payment from Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. as part of their collaboration to research and develop cancer treatments aimed at selectively inhibiting ligases, which are intrinsic to cancer cell growth and proliferation. The compound, as yet unnamed, targets cell division.

23 Dec 2009

Researchers find how KEAP1 tumor suppressor works

A tumor-suppressing protein snatches up an important cancer-promoting enzyme and tags it with molecules that condemn it to destruction, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports this week in the journal Molecular Cell.

12 Oct 2009

TRAF6 protein plays a role in cell growth and carcinogenesis, says researchers

The mainstay immune system protein TRAF6 plays an unexpected, key role activating a cell signaling molecule that in mutant form is associated with cancer growth, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Aug. 28 edition of Science.

2 Sep 2009

TRAF6 protein can activate a cell signalling molecule associated with cancer

28 Aug 2009

Research looks at cellular stress response to low oxygen

Gary Chiang, Ph.D., and colleagues at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have elucidated how the stability of the REDD1 protein is regulated. The REDD1 protein is a critical inhibitor of the mTOR signaling pathway, which controls cell growth and proliferation.

5 Aug 2009

Discovery of novel mechanism that could be targeted to prevent cancer spread

Researchers have discovered a key to the function of a specific protein that helps control the levels of other critical proteins within cells, including a protein that suppresses the spread of cancer. The new information about the mechanism of action of the protein, called gp78, may enable researchers to explore new types of therapies to prevent the spread of cancer. The study, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the June 26, 2009, issue of Molecular Cell.

28 Jun 2009

New protein identified in bacterial arsenal

Nearly a billion years ago, bacteria evolved an insidious means of infecting their hosts - a syringe-like mechanism able to inject cells with stealthy hijacker molecules. These molecules, called virulence factors, play a sophisticated game of mimicry, imitating many of the cells' normal activities but ultimately co-opting them to serve the bacteria's needs.

3 Mar 2009