Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Research findings could affect how drugs are developed to treat autoimmune diseases

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have zoomed in on what is going on at the molecular level when the body recognizes and defends against an attack of pathogens, and the findings, they say, could influence how drugs are developed to treat autoimmune diseases.

8 Jan 2014

Researchers explore molecular level changes when body recognizes, defends against pathogens

8 Jan 2014

Professor receives ALSF grant to develop cancer vaccine technology that help children to have healthy life

In 2004, a form of cancer known as neuroblastoma claimed the life of Alexandra (Alex) Scott, a little girl who gained national attention for using her lemonade stand to raise money for cancer research.

8 Jan 2014

Cornell biomedical engineers identify new way to destroy metastasizing cancer cells

Cornell biomedical engineers have discovered a new way to destroy metastasizing cancer cells traveling through the bloodstream - lethal invaders that are linked to almost all cancer deaths - by hitching cancer-killing proteins along for a ride on life-saving white blood cells.

8 Jan 2014

Added benefit of dabrafenib not proven

Dabrafenib has been approved in Germany since August 2013 for the treatment of advanced melanoma. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy.

7 Jan 2014

Study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity

A new neuroscience study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity. The in vivo study, published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, reveals how a protein in the brain helps regulate food intake and body weight. The findings reveal a potential new avenue for the treatment of obesity and may help explain why medications that are prescribed for epilepsy and other conditions that interfere with this protein, such as gabapentin and pregabalin, can cause weight gain.

7 Jan 2014

Memorial Sloan-Kettering to use Sutro's cell-free protein synthesis technology to produce bispecific antibodies

Sutro Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing a new generation of protein therapeutics, including next-generation antibody drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to use Sutro's proprietary cell-free protein synthesis technology to produce bispecific antibodies that were discovered by Memorial Sloan-Kettering for the treatment of neuroblastoma in children.

7 Jan 2014

EC grants approval for ABRAXANE in combination with gemcitabine for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Celgene International Sàrl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celgene Corporation, today announced that the European Commission has granted approval for ABRAXANE (paclitaxel formulated as albumin bound nanoparticles, or nab-paclitaxel) in combination with gemcitabine for first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

7 Jan 2014

Food labeling, product placement intervention can promote healthy choices

The use of color-coded "traffic light" food labels and changes in the way popular items are displayed appear to have produced a long-term increase in the choice of more healthful food items among customers in a large hospital cafeteria. A Massachusetts General Hospital team reports in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that the previously reported changes in the proportions of more and less healthy foods purchased in the months after their program began have persisted up to two years after the labeling intervention was introduced.

7 Jan 2014

Mannotriose regulates learning and memory signal transduction in hippocampus

The main component of the Chinese herb Rehmannia, mannotriose, can improve learning and memory. Dr. Lina Zhang and colleagues from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China used 1 - 10 mol/L mannotriose to treat primary hippocampal neurons insulted with 1 - 10 mol/L corticosterone.

7 Jan 2014

Study suggests new target for drugs to treat head and neck tumors

The increased activation of a key oncogene in head and neck cancers could be the result of mutation and dysfunction of regulatory proteins that are supposed to keep the gene, which has the potential to cause cancer, in check, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

7 Jan 2014

Cancer cells less likely to develop resistance when multiple drugs delivered simultaneously

Researchers have developed a technique for creating nanoparticles that carry two different cancer-killing drugs into the body and deliver those drugs to separate parts of the cancer cell where they will be most effective. The technique was developed by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

7 Jan 2014

Study quantifies photoactivation efficiency of fluorescent proteins

To know how many proteins assemble together at the nanoscale is fundamental for understanding protein function. Sometimes, proteins must be in an "oligomeric" state to be functional, although "oligomerization" of certain proteins can also lead to diseases. The ability to determine protein stoichiometry and monitor changes in the balance between monomeric, dimeric and multi-meric proteins can allow scientists to see the differences between a properly functioning cell and a diseased cell. Therefore, there is a great interest in being able to count proteins and determine their stoichiometry.

7 Jan 2014

New ways to treat substance abuse, neurological diseases and mental illnesses

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found a way to change alcohol drinking behavior in rodents, using the emerging technique of optogenetics, which uses light to stimulate neurons.

7 Jan 2014

Mutations in small proteins that help convey electrical signals may influence nerve health

Mutations in small proteins that help convey electrical signals throughout the body may have a surprisingly large effect on health, according to results of a new Johns Hopkins study study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in December using spider, scorpion and sea anemone venom.

7 Jan 2014

Protein may be major culprit when breast cancer metastasizes to the brain

A cancer-research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has identified a protein that may be a major culprit when breast cancer metastasizes to the brain.

6 Jan 2014

Adenosine deaminase has potential to improve prognosis, diagnosis and treatment of ESCC

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC), the major histological form of esophageal cancer, is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered a biomarker, called adenosine deaminase acting on RNA-1 (ADAR1), which has the potential to improve the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of this disease.

6 Jan 2014

New approach aims to prevent brain cancer recurrence by attacking tumors at the source

Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery identified immune system targets on cancer stem cells - cells from which malignant brain tumors are believed to originate and regenerate - and created an experimental vaccine to attack them.

6 Jan 2014

Portage acquires approximately 54% equity in Biohaven

Portage Biotech Inc., is pleased to announce that it has acquired approximately 54% equity in Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Limited, a private corporation formed under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, for $3.5 million, payable as $1.75 million upfront and the balance in three installments over the next eleven months.

6 Jan 2014

Clinical features not sufficiently pathognomonic in pneumonia

Clinical signs and symptoms are not sufficiently reliable to distinguish the different etiologies of pneumonia, Dutch researchers report.

6 Jan 2014

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Research findings could affect how drugs are developed to treat autoimmune diseases

Researchers explore molecular level changes when body recognizes, defends against pathogens

Professor receives ALSF grant to develop cancer vaccine technology that help children to have healthy life

Cornell biomedical engineers identify new way to destroy metastasizing cancer cells

Added benefit of dabrafenib not proven

Study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity

Memorial Sloan-Kettering to use Sutro's cell-free protein synthesis technology to produce bispecific antibodies

EC grants approval for ABRAXANE in combination with gemcitabine for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Food labeling, product placement intervention can promote healthy choices

Mannotriose regulates learning and memory signal transduction in hippocampus

Study suggests new target for drugs to treat head and neck tumors

Cancer cells less likely to develop resistance when multiple drugs delivered simultaneously

Study quantifies photoactivation efficiency of fluorescent proteins

New ways to treat substance abuse, neurological diseases and mental illnesses

Mutations in small proteins that help convey electrical signals may influence nerve health

Protein may be major culprit when breast cancer metastasizes to the brain

Adenosine deaminase has potential to improve prognosis, diagnosis and treatment of ESCC

New approach aims to prevent brain cancer recurrence by attacking tumors at the source

Portage acquires approximately 54% equity in Biohaven

Clinical features not sufficiently pathognomonic in pneumonia

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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