Phosphatase News and Research

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Researchers discover enzyme that is a natural tumor suppressor

Building on their 2005 discovery of an enzyme that is a natural tumor suppressor, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have now identified two variants of that enzyme which could provide new targets for therapies to treat diabetes, heart and neurological disease.

10 Apr 2007

Cell pathway identified which plays critical role in colon cancer

For the one in 18 men and women who will be diagnosed with cancer of the colon and rectum during their lifetime and over 150,000 people diagnosed on a yearly basis, today's genetic research news offers some optimism.

20 Feb 2007

Plant-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may have a protective effect on bone health

Normally, most of the omega-3 fatty acids in the diet are plant-derived and come mainly from soybean and canola oil. Other sources are flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts and walnut oil.

19 Feb 2007

Lab-on-a-chip nanoscale array monitors cellular processes

Researchers at Tel-Aviv University in Israel have developed a lab-on-a-chip device that can incorporate enzymes and even living cells in a nanoscale array capable of monitoring electrochemical reactions.

30 Oct 2006

New tool to study protein kinase A - linked to heart failure

Scientists studying heart cells have devised a new way to visualize and quantify the rise and fall in the activity of a key enzyme linked to heart failure.

8 Aug 2006

New molecular target for obesity

Mice bred without the enzyme MKP-1 are resistant to weight gain despite consuming high fat foods and eating more than control mice, according to a research study published online in Cell Metabolism.

24 Jul 2006

Protein called Elk-1appears to play role in neurodegeneration and schizophrenia

Pprotein called Elk-1 interacts with mitochondria, the energy storehouse of a cell, suggesting that this protein - typically active in the nucleus - could play a role in cell death and mitochondria-related diseases such as neurodegeneration and schizophrenia.

9 Jun 2006

Scientists clarify role of phosphatase and tensin homolog tumor suppressor gene

Jiwang Zhang, Ph.D., formerly a Senior Research Associate at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and Linheng Li, Ph.D., Associate Investigator, are credited as the first and last authors, respectively, on a paper highlighting several previously unknown functions of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), an important tumor suppressor gene.

23 Apr 2006

Rutgers researchers discover obesity gene

Rutgers researchers have identified a gene - and the molecular function of its protein product - that provides an important clue to further understanding obesity and may point the way to new drugs to control fat metabolism.

20 Mar 2006

Common garden plant may hold cure for leukemia

Scientists in the U.S. believe they have identified a new pathway in the progression of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

12 Dec 2005

Plant extract forskolin may lead to leukemia treatment

Scientists here have identified a new pathway in the progression of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). They also discovered that an extract from the root of a common ornamental plant can suppress the process.

20 Nov 2005

Vanadium may help prepare the body to recover speedily from infections

Dietary supplements containing vanadium are used by body builders to help beef up muscles and by some diabetic people to control blood sugar. New research now suggests the naturally occurring but easily toxic element may help prepare the body to recover speedily from infections from gram-negative organisms such as E. coli.

11 Oct 2005

Nanogen issued patent relating to biological screening device

Nanogen announced today it was issued Patent No. 6,942,778, "Microstructure Apparatus and Method for Separating Differently Charged Molecules Using an Applied Electric Field" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

26 Sep 2005

Action of dopamine may be particularly important for understanding psychiatric conditions

Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered a new mechanism by which chronically high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine exert their effects on the brain.

28 Jul 2005

Researchers use RNAi libraries to identify regulators of apoptosis and chemoresistance

Using targeted RNA interference, or RNAi libraries, researchers at Harvard Medical School describe the first large-scale classification of kinase and phosphatase gene families on the basis of their role in apoptosis and cell survival. This study appears in the June issue of Nature Cell Biology.

10 Jun 2005

New series of human drug targets available to all researchers

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), an Anglo-Canadian charitable consortium of public and private agencies including Oxford University, announced recently that it has delivered its first 50 human and malaria protein structures into the public domain on budget and two months ahead of schedule.

6 Jun 2005

Secreted signaling protein called Wnt10b secret to new drugs for preventing or treating osteoporosis

Leaping tall buildings in a single bound may be out of the question, but the genetically engineered "supermice" in Ormond MacDougald's laboratory at the University of Michigan Medical School are definitely stronger than average.

22 Feb 2005

How do you remember your own name?

How do you remember your own name? Is it possible ever to forget it? The memory trace, or engram, "feels" like it is stored permanently in the brain and it will never be forgotten.

16 Jan 2005

Wiping out a protein in skin cancer cells could significantly stall melanoma tumor development

The protein, Akt3, appears to be responsible for promoting tumor cell survival and development in 43 percent to 60 percent of non-inherited melanomas.

13 Dec 2004

Enzyme that normally alters the activity of other protein molecules in cells may also help prevent cancer

The enzyme is known as PTPRO (for “protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor-type O”). When the gene responsible for producing PTPRO is silenced, as can happen in lung cancer, for example, the amount of the enzyme drops, allowing the cells to grow when they shouldn’t.

11 Nov 2004