Messenger Protein News and Research

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Researchers reveal how a new CALM mutation causes deadly arrhythmias

Arrhythmia, when left unchecked, can be life-threatening.

18 Apr 2023

Tiny messenger can be promising candidate for treatment of diseases associated with muscular atrophy

WNT messenger proteins are crucial for a variety of cellular functions. A specific WNT messenger can increase muscle mass and improve regeneration in skeletal muscle.

14 Dec 2022

Bacteria use a 'sense of touch' mechanism to navigate on surfaces

Many disease-causing bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa crawl on surfaces through a walk-like motility known as "twitching". Nanometers-wide filaments called type IV pili are known to power twitching, but scientists ignore which sensory signals coordinate the microbes' movements.

23 Jul 2021

Breakthrough discovery could lead to more effective immunotherapies

Scientists at UCL have discovered how immune cells, essential for tackling life-threatening infections and cancers, are able to 'recycle' material within themselves in order to stay healthy and function, a breakthrough finding which could lead to more effective immunotherapies.

21 Jan 2020

Researchers identify toxin responsible for Legionella growth

A team of scientists led by EMBL group leader Sagar Bhogaraju and Ivan Dikic of Goethe University, Frankfurt, discovered that the toxin SidJ in Legionella bacteria enforces a unique modification on human proteins and helps legionella grow inside human cells.

22 Jul 2019

Research may show new ways to repress inflammation at outset

Researchers at the University of Tübingen, working with colleagues in other parts of Germany and in the United States, have identified an enzyme as a kind of biological gauge regulating inflammation in the human body.

21 Feb 2017

New treatment with therapeutic short interfering RNA could help thwart cancer

In the fight against cancer, doctors dish out combination-blows of surgery, chemotherapy and other drugs to beat back a merciless foe. Now, scientists have taken early steps toward adding a stinging punch to clinicians' repertoire.

7 Nov 2016

Scientists identify gene that causes hereditary hypertension and brachydactyly type E

Individuals with this altered gene have hereditary hypertension (high blood pressure) and at the same time a skeletal malformation called brachydactyly type E, which is characterized by unusually short fingers and toes. The effect on blood pressure is so serious that -- if left untreated -- it most often leads to death before age fifty.

11 May 2015

Researchers discover novel population of neutrophils that exhibit enhanced microbial killing activity

Case Western Reserve University researchers have discovered a novel population of neutrophils, which are the body's infection control workhorses. These cells have an enhanced microbial killing ability and are thereby better able to control infection.

25 Mar 2014

Clarified role of signal-relay proteins may help explain spread of cancer

Cell biologists at The Johns Hopkins University have teased apart two integral components of the machinery that causes cells to move. Their discovery shows that cellular projections, which act as hands to help a cell "crawl," are apparently always initiated by a network of message-relaying proteins inside the cell.

21 Oct 2013

Research finding could lead to potential treatment for lymphedema

The molecule interleukin-7 is an important immune messenger protein which ensures that a sufficient number of T cells are present in our body for immune defence. Researchers from ETH Zurich have now demonstrated that IL-7 has another important function: it enhances the drainage function of lymphatic vessels, which collect fluid that has leaked out of blood vessels into the body tissue and return it to the bloodstream.

27 Aug 2013

Platelet activation inhibits host cell entry of HIV, shows research

Scientists of the DPZ have shown that platelet activation inhibits the host cell entry of HIV. Infection biologists of the German Primate Center (DPZ) under the direction of Stefan Pöhlmann have found evidence that platelets (thrombocytes) might constitute an innate defense against infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

24 Jul 2013

Study might help solve the biggest mystery of Parkinson’s

The recent discoveries that α-Synuclein(α-Syn) protein, a central player in Parkinson´s disease (PD) brain destruction, could not only pass from one neuron to another but also exist outside neuronal cells has led to major rethink on the disease.

23 Aug 2012

Insulin sensitivity in the ovaries and the pituitary linked to infertility

Infertility is common among obese women, but the reasons remain poorly understood and few treatments exist. Now a team of Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists, conducting experiments in mice, has uncovered what they consider surprising evidence that insulin resistance, long considered a prime suspect, has little to do with infertility in women with type-2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome, all obesity-related conditions.

16 Nov 2011

Limited decision-making ability of individual cells is bolstered in masses

Researchers from Johns Hopkins have quantified the number of possible decisions that an individual cell can make after receiving a cue from its environment, and surprisingly, it's only two.

14 Oct 2011

Researchers identify promising new therapies for ependymoma

Researchers have identified promising new therapies for ependymoma, a rare tumor with few treatment options. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators led the effort, which used a new, faster drug development system that combines the latest drug screening technology with the first accurate animal model of the tumor.

16 Sep 2011

Genes role in protecting intestinal tract from colitis may lead to potential targets for treatment

Scientists report a protein made by a gene already associated with a handful of human inflammatory immune diseases plays a pivotal role in protecting the intestinal tract from colitis.

19 Mar 2010

Newly discovered molecular switch creates new path to study birth defects and cancer

Researchers have discovered a central molecular switch in fruit fly embryos that opens new avenues for studying the causes of birth defects and cancer in humans.

11 Aug 2008

Gene chip technology used to distinguish ventilator-associated pneumonia from underlying critical illness

Critically ill patients who need a ventilator to breathe face a high risk of pneumonia.

14 Feb 2008

Researchers uncover delicate protein balance behind the immune system response

A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has identified the protein interactions involved in the immune system process that fights infection yet, in certain inflammatory diseases, runs amok and attacks friendly tissue.

10 Dec 2007