Messenger RNA (mRNA) News and Research

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Most comprehensive genome-wide experimental analyses of sense-antisense transcripts to date

A team of scientists led by Dr. Kuniya Abe from the RIKEN BioResource Center in Japan has performed one of the most comprehensive genome-wide experimental analyses of sense-antisense transcripts to date. Their findings are published in the April issue of the journal Genome Research.

15 Mar 2005

New way of looking at MicroRNA and how it controls gene expression

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute is reporting a discovery that sheds light on an area of research fundamental to everything from the normal processes that govern the everyday life of human cells to the aberrant mechanisms that underlie many diseases, including cancer and septic shock.

13 Mar 2005

RNA interference as promising therapy for ALS

Scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have used RNA interference in transgenic mice to silence a mutated gene that causes inherited cases of amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), substantially delaying both the onset and the progression rate of the fatal motor neuron disease.

13 Mar 2005

New technique to identify fetal genetic material from amniotic fluid

A preliminary report suggests that cell-free fetal messenger RNA (ribonucleic acid) can be extracted from amniotic fluid (fluid around the fetus), and then be analyzed to study gene expression changes that may reflect the well-being of the fetus, according to a paper in the February 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical applications of biotechnology.

15 Feb 2005

Gene used in brain development can cause childhood brain cancers

A gene that's normally silenced after contributing to brain development was found to be expressed in cells from medulloblastoma, the most common form of pediatric brain malignancy in children, scientists report in an article published in the February 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

3 Feb 2005

Scientists discover that microRNAs regulate thousands of human genes

For many years, DNA and proteins have been viewed as the real movers and shakers in genomic studies, with RNA seen as little more than a messenger that shuttles information between the two.

16 Jan 2005

Core promoter mutants of Hepatitis B Virus e Antigen associated with development of fulminant hepatitis and liver cancer

Scientists in Brown Medical School, Providence, USA, have found that core promoter mutants of Hepatitis B Virus e Antigen replicate at up to 10-fold higher levels in transfected human hepatoma cells than the wild-type virus.

9 Jan 2005

Major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer

Scientists funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research reported taking a major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer.

21 Dec 2004

Messenger RNA not only are measurable in saliva but can indicate a developing tumor

Scientists funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research reported today taking a major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer.

20 Dec 2004

Using precise, radioactively labeled genetic probes, researchers study cancer gene activity from outside the body

Using precise, radioactively labeled genetic probes, researchers at Jefferson Medical College have seen cancer gene activity from outside the body in laboratory mice. The probes, which work by attaching to genetic codes copied from an active cancer gene, may someday aid physicians and scientists in cancer detection and in determining the appropriate treatment for a cancer.

13 Dec 2004

Model may explain how alcohol stimulates tumor growth

The investigators found that compared to the saline control group, the embryos exposed to ethanol experienced increases in tumor size, tumor blood vessel density, cancer cell infiltration of blood vessels, and VEGF levels.

13 Dec 2004

Electrochemical DNA chip that is able to detect DNA at very low concentrations

Toshiba Corporation has announced the development of a highly sensitive electrochemical DNA chip that is able to detect DNA at very low concentrations, a capability that will support advances in gene detection and analysis for individual treatment regimes, and the monitoring of healthy individuals for any predisposition to certain diseases.

6 Dec 2004

Scientist develops way to deliver promising genetic tool into living cells

By exploiting an HIV protein that readily traverses cell membranes, Carnegie Mellon University scientists have developed a new way to introduce a gene-like molecule called a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) directly into live mammalian cells, including human embryonic stem (ES) cells.

6 Dec 2004

A gallery of highly-specific, gene and protein “mug shots” of cancer types would be a powerful for oncologists

Doctors would like to diagnose malignancies rapidly by matching them with highly-specific genetic “mug shots” based on the presence of characteristic mRNAs or proteins. This kind of specificity would facilitate screening and early detection, and would potentially allow targeted treatments specific to each type of cancer

4 Dec 2004

Discovery of a new cancer gene, which, when damaged, may promote prostate cancer

Together with an international research team, researchers from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have developed an effective method for the screening and identification of genes that under normal conditions suppress cancer growth.

24 Nov 2004

Uncoupling proteins in the human heart

Results of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that respiratory uncoupling and reduced substrate availability might lead to energy deficiency in heart failure.

14 Nov 2004

Gene silencing may provide hope for leukemia sufferers

Ever since the approval of Gleevec in 2001, a cancer-cell-specific drug used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), the field of cancer therapeutics has been rushing full speed into the era of so-called "targeted" medicines.

1 Nov 2004

A single change in a person’s DNA can contribute to a range of life-shortening risk factors

A woman with hypertension, low magnesium levels, and a cooperative family allowed scientists to pinpoint the mutation, which affects the genes of the mitochondria — the energy-producing power plants of the cell that are passed from mother to offspring.

25 Oct 2004

Detecting diseases with no more to work with than a drop of blood

The dream of monitoring a patient's physical condition through blood testing has long been realized. But how about detecting diseases in their very early stages, or evaluating how they are responding to treatment, with no more to work with than a drop of blood!

22 Oct 2004

Researchers have found a starting point to establishing the genetic basis for sinus disease

In a three-year analysis of more than 10,500 genes, one-third of the human genome, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found a starting point to establishing the genetic basis for sinus disease and the growth of nasal polyps, illnesses not well understood despite their prevalence.

8 Oct 2004