Lysosomes News and Research

RSS

High-level quantum chemical computations help unravel underlying mechanism of hepatocellular toxicity

Balasubramanian and Basak have recently reported quantum chemical computations that enhance our understanding of mechanisms for the causes of liver toxicity. Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common forms of cancer, and the primary cause has been attributed to liver fibrosis by chemical toxins, which is followed by liver cirrhosis.

9 May 2016

Salk scientists reveal how cellular fuel gauge plays unexpected role in development

Salk scientists have revealed how a cellular "fuel gauge" responsible for monitoring and managing cells' energy processes also has an unexpected role in development. This critical link could help researchers better understand cancer and diabetes pathways.

26 Apr 2016

Study describes precise mechanisms that enable TB bacteria to persist in the body

Bacteria that cause tuberculosis trick immune cells meant to destroy them into hiding and feeding them instead. This is the result of a study led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center and published online April 18 in Nature Immunology.

19 Apr 2016

Oxidized mitochondrial nucleoids released from neutrophils may contribute to SLE pathogenesis

Researchers at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research have discovered that the neutrophils of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients release oxidized DNA from their mitochondria that can stimulate an unwanted immune response.

19 Apr 2016

Abnormally active Rab5 protein leads to early development of neurodegenerative disease

Writing in the April 11 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say abnormalities in a protein that helps transport and sort materials inside cells are linked to axonal dysfunction and degeneration of neurons in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Down syndrome (DS).

12 Apr 2016

Brain's immune cells play direct role in development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Cedars-Sinai research scientists have found that immune cells in the brain play a direct role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, offering hope for new therapies to target the neurodegenerative disease that gradually leads to paralysis and death.

18 Mar 2016

Researchers find new innate immunity pathway that protects mammals from viral oncogenesis

Building upon earlier research, investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center and their collaborators have identified a new innate immunity pathway that protects mammals from viral oncogenesis, the process by which viruses cause normal cells to become cancerous.

14 Mar 2016

Researchers unravel biochemical action of antimalarial drug

Malaria is a worldwide menace. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 500,000 individuals died from malaria in 2013 alone. While treatments for the disease exist, cures can also take a hefty physical toll.

26 Feb 2016

Pioneering technique shows promise for new medical diagnostics, targeted drug delivery

Living systems rely on a dizzying variety of chemical reactions essential to development and survival. Most of these involve a specialized class of protein molecules--the enzymes.

12 Feb 2016

Johns Hopkins study shows high doses of cocaine kill brain cells

Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have contributed significant new evidence to support the idea that high doses of cocaine kill brain cells by triggering overactive autophagy, a process in which cells literally digest their own insides. Their results, moreover, bring with them a possible antidote, an experimental compound dubbed CGP3466B.

19 Jan 2016

UAB's Undiagnosed Diseases Program finds answers for mysterious health issues

Stephanie and Christopher Smith have been on a long, difficult and often frustrating journey to find answers for the mysterious health issues of their children. It started 24 years ago when their third child, Gage, was born. Gage, his younger brother Aiden and then sister Mandalynn, now 13, all developed mysterious symptoms that mystified doctors.

29 Dec 2015

Scientists uncover novel strategy to block cancer's spread, restore tumor vulnerability to chemotherapy

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered how an aggressive tumor of the muscle and soft tissue hijacks an export pathway in cells to lay the groundwork for cancer progression and resistance to chemotherapy.

22 Dec 2015

VCU Massey Cancer Center scientists reveal signaling process that leads to excessive growth of cancer

The gene p53 has been described as the "guardian of the genome" due to its prominent role in preventing genetic mutations. More than half of all cancers are thought to originate from p53 mutations or loss of function, and now a recent study by VCU Massey Cancer Center scientist Richard Moran, Ph.D., explains why.

15 Dec 2015

New CRC aims to better understand autophagy at molecular and cellular level

The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/DFG) has approved 11 M € for the next four years for establishing a CRC on selective autophagy under the lead of Goethe University. Autophagy literally means "self-eating" and refers to a sophisticated system in which cellular waste is specifically detected and removed.

12 Dec 2015

UCI scientists find potential biomarker for diagnosing certain forms of autism

By identifying a key signaling defect within a specific membrane structure in all cells, University of California, Irvine researchers believe, they have found both a possible reliable biomarker for diagnosing certain forms of autism and a potential therapeutic target.

22 Sep 2015

New trial results show efficacy of novel enzyme-replacement therapy for genetic lipid disorder

Of the more than 50 known lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs)-rare inherited metabolic disorders-only seven can be treated with approved enzyme-replacement therapies.

10 Sep 2015

Valerion announces positive results from non-clinical pilot study of VAL-1221 for treatment of Pompe disease

Valerion Therapeutics, LLC yesterday announced positive results from a non-clinical "proof of concept" pilot study for a novel humanized antibody and acid alpha glucosidase (GAA) fusion candidate for the treatment of Pompe disease.

3 Sep 2015

Studies using yeast genetics provide new insights into cell-division cycle

Studies using yeast genetics have provided new, fundamental insights into the cell-division cycle, researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute report.

2 Sep 2015

Two proteins that help cells eliminate trash may contribute to development of Parkinson's disease

Two proteins that share the ability to help cells deal with their trash appear to need each other to do their jobs and when they don't connect, it appears to contribute to development of Parkinson's disease, scientists report.

21 Aug 2015

Study suggests potential target for treating familial form of ALS

A healthy motor neuron needs to transport its damaged components from the nerve-muscle connection all the way back to the cell body in the spinal cord. If it cannot, the defective components pile up and the cell becomes sick and dies. Researchers at the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have learned how a mutation in the gene for superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), which causes ALS, leads cells to accumulate damaged materials.

13 Aug 2015