Splicing News and Research

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Loss of SKIP sensitizes cancer cells to apoptotic effects of DNA damage-inducing anticancer drugs

When cells find themselves in a tight spot, the cell cycle regulator p21 halts the cell cycle, buying cells time to repair the damage, or if all else fails, to initiate programmed cell death. In contrast to other stress-induced genes, which dispense with the regular transcriptional entourage, p21Cip1 still requires SKIP, a transcription elongation factor that also helps with the editing of transcripts, to be expressed, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

2 Apr 2011

Scientists detail role of TDP-43 in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

5 Mar 2011

USPTO issues two patents to VIRxSYS SMaRT RNA platform technology

VIRxSYS Corporation, a privately-held biotechnology company with proprietary RNA payload and lentiviral vector delivery platform technologies, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the Company two patents for its SMaRT RNA platform technology, capable of reprogramming or repairing genes to create, increase or change protein expression.

18 Feb 2011

Agilent introduces first commercial RNA target enrichment system

Agilent Technologies, Inc., today introduced SureSelect RNA Capture Kits, the first commercial RNA target enrichment system enabling geneticists to focus on specific genomic loci or transcripts of research interest. The RNA capture kits make it possible to precisely measure expression levels of genes of interest and detect allelic-specific expression, splicing events and gene fusions.

3 Feb 2011

Mutated TDP-43 can cause neurons to die: Study

Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration are characterized by protein clumps in brain and spinal-cord cells that include an RNA-binding protein called TDP-43. This protein is the major building block of the lesions formed by these clumps.

6 Jan 2011

Research findings could provide breakthrough for development of effective therapies for NSCLC

Research at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center led by Charles E. Chalfant, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and molecular Biology, discovered a previously unknown mechanism in non-small cell lung cancer cells that contributes to their ability to maintain and grow tumors. Narrowing in on this mechanism could provide a breakthrough for the development of effective therapies for NSCLC and other cancers.

4 Dec 2010

Agilent releases GeneSpring GX 11.5 multi-omics bioinformatics system

Agilent Technologies Inc. today introduced GeneSpring GX 11.5, an expansion of its popular bioinformatics software into visualizing and analyzing multiple types of biological data. GeneSpring GX 11.5 now interprets exon microarray, proteomics and metabolomics experiments together for the first time, using a familiar interface.

23 Nov 2010

Researchers document novel form of splicing in nerve cell cytoplasm

Cells have their own version of the cut-and-paste editing function called splicing. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have documented a novel form of splicing in the cytoplasm of a nerve cell, which dictates a special form of a potassium channel protein in the outer membrane.

19 Nov 2010

Agilent announces solution for exon analysis based on SurePrint G3 Exon Microarrays

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced a solution for exon analysis based on SurePrint G3 Exon Microarrays. The solution provides a major expansion of Agilent's portfolio of gene expression reagents, microarrays and bioinformatics systems. This new system, available in mid-November, enables researchers to examine alternately expressed exons according to recently updated content, providing a global picture of RNA expression.

4 Nov 2010

Researchers identify new paradigm for regulation of alternative splicing

How a T cell decides to make protein X, Y, or Z can have profound effects for fighting foreign invaders or staving off dire autoimmune reactions. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified the steps that control how different forms of an immune cell protein called CD45, which is critical for activating the immune system when faced with pathogens, are controlled in the arc of a body's immune response.

18 Oct 2010

Researchers report MALAT1 gene regulates pre-mRNA splicing in cancer

Researchers report this month that MALAT1, a long non-coding RNA that is implicated in certain cancers, regulates pre-mRNA splicing a critical step in the earliest stage of protein production. Their study appears in the journal Molecular Cell.

24 Sep 2010

Dr. Hastings receives grant for Spinal Muscular Atrophy research

Michelle Hastings, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, in the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, has been awarded a five-year $1.68 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support her research aimed at investigating treatments for the fatal children's disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

11 Aug 2010

CSHL scientists reverse symptoms of Type III SMA using ASOs

The devastating, currently incurable motor-neuron disease spinal muscular atrophy might soon be treated with tiny, chemically modified pieces of RNA called antisense oligonucleotides.

13 Jul 2010

ExonHit Therapeutics, Genmab A/S sign agreement for selection of novel splice variants

ExonHit Therapeutics today announced the signing of an exclusive agreement with Genmab A/S for a selection of novel splice variants, identified as part of a successful pilot study, that have the potential to be therapeutic targets for breast cancer. Genmab retains exclusive development and commercialization rights on 10 events out of a breast cancer database developed using ExonHit's genome-wide SpliceArray technology (RNA splicing analysis platform covering the entire genome).

15 Jun 2010

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have discovered why statins -- popular drugs that lower cholesterol and appear to protect against colorectal cancer development -- work for some people, but not for all.

22 Apr 2010

Researchers discuss possibility of using food to prevent individual's genes from expressing disease

Personal health recommendations and diets tailored to better prevent diseases may be in our future, just by focusing on genetics.

6 Mar 2010

Pangu BioPharma's naturally occurring splice variants of human tRNA synthetases study awarded second grant

The Innovation and Technology Commission of the Hong Kong government has awarded Pangu BioPharma, the Hong Kong subsidiary of aTyr Pharma, a second grant to fund research it is performing in collaboration with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). The Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) provides matching funds over the next 18 months to expand Pangu's successful work in the identification and characterization of naturally occurring splice variants of human tRNA synthetases.

1 Mar 2010

Mapping of human genome modification during embryonic development

Scientists at The Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) led an international effort to build a map that shows in detail how the human genome is modified during embryonic development.

4 Feb 2010

Loss of key proteins may account for molecular abnormalities associated with myotonic dystrophy

Research on the genetic defect that causes myotonic muscular dystrophy has revealed that the mutation disrupts an array of metabolic pathways in muscle cells through its effects on two key proteins.

24 Jan 2010

Study: Warburg effect promotes rapid cell proliferation and tumor growth

A team of scientists led by Professor Adrian Krainer, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has discovered molecular factors in cancer cells that boost the production of an enzyme that helps alter the cells' glucose metabolism. The altered metabolic state, called the Warburg effect, promotes extremely rapid cell proliferation and tumor growth. Adrian Krainer, Ph.D.

23 Jan 2010