Structural Protein News and Research

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InvivoSciences, WUSTL to construct artificial tissue models for heart failure

The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $2 million to a team of scientists from Washington University in St. Louis and InvivoSciences, a biotechnology startup with WUSTL roots, to construct artificial tissue models that will allow the rapid testing of new drugs for heart failure.

17 Jul 2012

Scientists assemble timeline of brain changes that lead to Alzheimer's

Scientists have assembled the most detailed chronology to date of the human brain's long, slow slide into full-blown Alzheimer's disease.

12 Jul 2012

Neonate blood-brain barrier more intact than adults following stroke

The ability for substances to pass through the blood-brain barrier is increased after adult stroke, but not after neonatal stroke, according to a new study the UCSF that will be published July 11 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

11 Jul 2012

Alpha-myosin triggers development of autoimmunity after heart attack

After people with type 1 diabetes have a heart attack, their long-term chance of suffering even more heart damage skyrockets. But the reason has long puzzled scientists. Now researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have identified the misstep that sparks this runaway chronic damage and a promising way to block it.

14 Jun 2012

Chromatin compaction required for proper embryonic stem cell differentiation

New research findings show that embryonic stem cells unable to fully compact the DNA inside them cannot complete their primary task: differentiation into specific cell types that give rise to the various types of tissues and structures in the body.

11 May 2012

Malfunctioning single proteins cause disruptions in neuronal junctions leading to autism

Malfunctioning single proteins can cause disruptions in neuronal junctions leading to autistic forms of behavior. A current study, published in the scientific journal Nature, comes to this conclusion after examining genetically altered mice.

4 May 2012

Study shows how PCBs could add to autism risk

New research from UC Davis and Washington State University shows that PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, launch a cellular chain of events that leads to an overabundance of dendrites - the filament-like projections that conduct electrochemical signals between neurons - and disrupts normal patterns of neuronal connections in the brain.

26 Apr 2012

HSP40/70 linked to hepatitis C infection

Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits a hepatitis C virus protein and blocks viral replication, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis.

31 Jan 2012

Pannexin1 protein may play an important role in mechanics of tumors

By studying tumor cell behavior in a novel "scaffold-free" 3-D system, researchers have determined that the protein Pannexin1 may play an important biomechanical role in binding tissues together, an effect that is lost in cancerous cells.

31 Jan 2012

DNA stays too tightly wound in brain cells of patients with schizophrenia

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly.

28 Dec 2011

STED microscope reveals that F-actin pervades immunological synapse

Making use of a new "super resolution" microscope that provides sharp images at extremely small scales, scientists have achieved unprecedented views of the immune system in action.

14 Sep 2011

Scientists decode new mechanism that regulates cell polarity in epithelial tissues, neurons

In the course of examining the Drosophila tumor suppressor gene (Dlg), scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have succeeded in decoding a new mechanism that regulates cell polarity in epithelial tissues or in neurons in the brain.

14 Sep 2011

Scientists discover key defense mechanism against C. difficile infection

Researchers have discovered a key mechanism used by intestinal cells to defend themselves against one of the world's most common hospital-acquired bacterial infections - a mechanism they think they can exploit to produce a therapy to protect against the effects of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

22 Aug 2011

Scientists identify bacterial attack pathway

When competing for food and resources, bacteria employ elaborate strategies to keep rival cells at bay. Scientists have now identified a pathway that allows disease-causing bacteria to attack other bacterial cells by breaking down their cell wall.

22 Jul 2011

DFG to fund 60 million euros for 18 new Research Training Groups

With the aim of further strengthening early-career research in Germany, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is to establish 18 new Research Training Groups.

21 May 2011

Biocept's paper describes identification of different CTC phenotypes in cancer patients

Biocept, Inc., a privately-held laboratory testing company focused on the detection, enumeration and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in cancer patients, today announced the publication of a paper describing the identification of different CTC phenotypes using its proprietary Cell Enrichment and Extraction platform.

12 May 2011

Montreal Heart Institute and Cerenis commence CER-001 Phase 2 study in acute coronary syndrome

The Montreal Heart Institute today announced the start of the Phase 2 CHI-SQUARE (Can HDL Infusions Significantly QUicken Atherosclerosis REgression?) study of CER-001 in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), in collaboration with Cerenis Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel high-density lipoprotein (HDL) therapies to treat cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

16 Mar 2011

Cerenis commences CER-001 Phase 2 CHI-SQUARE study in patients with ACS

Cerenis Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel high-density lipoprotein therapies to treat cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, today announced the start of the Phase 2 CHI-SQUARE study of CER-001 in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

15 Mar 2011

Mutations in gene linked to structure of the heart seen in Ebstein's anomaly patients

Ebstein's anomaly is a rare congenital valvular heart disease. Now, in patients with this disease, researchers of the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the University of Newcastle, UK and the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have identified mutations in a gene which plays an important role in the structure of the heart.

16 Feb 2011

Endothelial cells may play a role in controlling cancer behavior: New study

MIT scientists have discovered that cells lining the blood vessels secrete molecules that suppress tumor growth and keep cancer cells from invading other tissues, a finding that could lead to a new way to treat cancer.

20 Jan 2011