Programmed Cell Death News and Research

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AACR-NCI-EORTC conference highlights major expansion in cancer drug pipeline

To highlight results of more recent research, the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics International Conference will host a press briefing on "Drugs in the Pipeline." Sara A. Courtneidge, Ph.D., D.Sc., professor and director of the Tumor Microenvironment Program, and director of academic affairs at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, will moderate this press briefing.

17 Nov 2009

New insights into cells' reaction to DNA damage

Cancer researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have gained new insights into how cells react to DNA damage. Dr. Michael Stilmann, Dr. Michael Hinz and Professor Claus Scheidereit have shown that the protein PARP-1, which detects DNA damage within seconds, activates the transcription factor NF-kappaB, a well-known regulator of gene expression.

17 Nov 2009

Lipid that accumulates in brain cells drives cell death, says research

The lipid that accumulates in brain cells of individuals with an inherited enzyme disorder also drives the cell death that is a hallmark of the disease, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators.

13 Nov 2009

Stapled Peptides directly inhibit the Notch transcription factor complex

Aileron Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company leading the development of a new class of drugs called Stapled Peptides, announced today that its collaborators, James E. Bradner, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and Gregory L. Verdine, PhD, Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University, published research in Nature entitled, “Direct Inhibition of the Notch Transcription Factor Complex.”

12 Nov 2009

Stapled Peptides can inhibit key intracellular biological targets, says new research

Aileron Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company leading the development of a new class of drugs called Stapled Peptides, announced today that its collaborators, James E. Bradner, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and Gregory L. Verdine, PhD, Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University, published research in Nature entitled, "Direct Inhibition of the Notch Transcription Factor Complex." Results presented in the paper showed that Stapled Peptides can potently and directly inhibit the transcription factor Notch, an oncogene implicated in cancer cell proliferation and survival.

12 Nov 2009

Graceway Pharmaceuticals acquires global rights to Gilead Sciences' GS 9191 anti-proliferative agent

Graceway Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a portfolio company of GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC, today announced that the company has acquired from Gilead Sciences, Inc. the worldwide license, including related regulatory filings and intellectual properties, to Gilead’s investigational molecule, GS 9191, for topical use. GS 9191 is an anti-proliferative agent that works by inhibiting cellular DNA synthesis, leading to the induction of apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

7 Nov 2009

Researchers use BEZ235 drug to eliminate NSCL cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have eliminated non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancer in mice by using an investigative drug called BEZ235 in combination with low-dose radiation.

30 Oct 2009

Bcl-2 inhibitor may enhance chemotherapy treatment in patients with prostate cancer

In trying to better predict a patient's response to chemotherapy for cancer treatment, a team of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has identified a way to better manipulate a gene product to cause cancer cells to die.

28 Oct 2009

Potential link exists between histone mRNA formation and apoptosis

A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified a key player in a molecular process essential for DNA replication within cells.

26 Oct 2009

Roche's xCELLigence RTCA SP Instrument used for in vitro testing of cells

The C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA Polymerase II consists of multiple repeats of an evolutionary conserved motif of seven amino acids, forming a repetitive structure of 52 repeats in humans and 26 repeats in yeast. Twenty years after the first description of the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain, its function is still unclear.

23 Oct 2009

Antioxidant extracts of G.biloba leaves may protect cells from radiation damage

Antioxidant extracts of the leaves of the Gingko biloba tree may protect cells from radiation damage, according to a study published in the International Journal of Low Radiation. The discovery may one day be used to help reduce side effects in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

20 Oct 2009

Ruthenium and Osmium compounds show high levels of activity against ovarian cancer

Drugs made using unusual metals could form an effective treatment against colon and ovarian cancer, including cancerous cells that have developed immunity to other drugs, according to research at the University of Warwick and the University of Leeds.

19 Oct 2009

Researchers test Orizon Research's ALKA-V6 silicon-based compound

Researchers at Texas State University-San Marcos have completed initial testing of a cancer chemotherapeutic and anti-retroviral compound with promising results.

14 Oct 2009

Membrane-bound Fas ligand is essential for cell death: Researchers

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have put an end to a 10-year debate over which form of a molecular messenger called Fas ligand is responsible for killing cells during programmed cell death (also called apoptosis).

1 Oct 2009

EGCG in green tea helps prolong preservation of stored blood platelets

In two separate studies, a major component in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), has been found to help prolong the preservation of both stored blood platelets and cryopreserved skin tissues.

15 Sep 2009

Molecular mechanism responsible for transition of non-invasive breast cancer into invasive disease discovered

Active, but non-invasive breast cancer is set free to roam as invasive breast cancer when an overexpressed protein converts it to a different cell type, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Sept. 9 issue of the journal Cancer Cell.

9 Sep 2009

FOXO3a protein stimulates cancer development

In a biological rendition of fiction's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, researchers from the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida and Harvard Medical School have found that a protein thought to protect against cancer development can actually spur the spread of tumors.

4 Sep 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

Chk1 and Fbx6 play an important role for the regulation of response to chemotherapy

Cell cycle checkpoints act like molecular tripwires for damaged cells, forcing them to pause and take stock. Leave the tripwire in place for too long, though, and cancer cells will press on regardless, making them resistant to the lethal effects of certain types of chemotherapy, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

28 Aug 2009