Telomerase News and Research

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Targeted monoclonal antibodies show promise for pancreatic and metastatic breast cancer

Early trials using targeted monoclonal antibodies in combination with existing therapies show promise in treating pancreatic cancer and metastatic breast cancer, according to research that will be presented by investigators from the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center at the 2010 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology June 4 through 8.

2 Jun 2010

UCSF research shows brief exercise buffers the effects of stress-induced cell aging

Exercise can buffer the effects of stress-induced cell aging, according to new research from UCSF that revealed actual benefits of physical activity at the cellular level.

27 May 2010

Positive data from Geron's TAT153 small molecule telomerase activator in animal model of IPF

Geron Corporation today announced positive data on its orally available small molecule telomerase activator, TAT153, in an animal model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The data show that administration of TAT153 increased telomerase activity in the lung tissue, reduced inflammation, preserved functional lung tissue, slowed disease progression and attenuated loss of pulmonary function.

19 May 2010

152 research and training grants awarded to researchers at 93 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 152 new national research and training grants totaling $50,717,000 in the first of two grants cycles for 2010. The grants, primarily to early career researchers, cover a broad range of investigator-initiated ideas at 93 institutions nationwide, from whether cadmium exposure increases the risk of endometrial cancer, to studies of plant and bacterial-bourne compounds, to a study on a protein called survivin that could lead to novel drugs targeting prostate cancer.

18 May 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $1.9M for first-quarter 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-like Receptors, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

5 May 2010

Geron reports net loss of $16.6M for first-quarter 2010

Geron Corporation today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

29 Apr 2010

Geron scientists highlight importance of telomerase inhibitor, GRN163L at AACR 2010

Geron Corporation today announced five presentations by Geron scientists and collaborators on the company's telomerase inhibitor, imetelstat sodium, including the drug's activity against cancer stem cells, at the 101st American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting held in Washington D.C.

23 Apr 2010

New insights on events that lead to immortalized cells

Researchers at Umeå University can now show that cells that grow forever get this capacity through gradual changes in the expression of genes that govern the repair of DNA damage and regulate growth and cell death. The research also shows that activation of the enzyme complex telomerase, which is necessary for unlimited growth, occurs late in this process.

29 Mar 2010

Reversal of aging shown in human stem cells

A team of North American collaborators from both industrial research centers (Biotime Inc, Mandala Biosciences LLC and Sierra Sciences LLC) and academic institutes (Ontario Cancer Institute, Burnham Institute for Medical Research and The Scripps Research Institute) have demonstrated successful reversal of the developmental aging of normal human cells.

18 Mar 2010

Reversal of aging in normal human cells

BioTime, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, today announced the publication of a scientific paper titled “Spontaneous Reversal of Developmental Aging in Normal Human Cells Following Transcriptional Reprogramming.”

17 Mar 2010

Human amniotic fluid skin cells "reprogrammed" to pluripotency

In a breakthrough that may help fill a critical need in stem cell research and patient care, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have demonstrated that skin cells found in human amniotic fluid can be efficiently "reprogrammed" to pluripotency, where they have characteristics similar to human embryonic stem cells that can develop into almost any type of cell in the human body. The study is online now and will appear in print in the next issue of the journal Cellular Reprogramming, to be published next month.

16 Mar 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals announces net income of $3.9M for fourth-quarter 2009

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

10 Mar 2010

Geron highlights telomerase inhibitor's activity against cancer stem cells at AACR Special Conference

Geron Corporation today announced several presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research Special Conference on The Role of Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer Research held in Fort Worth, TX between February 27th and March 1st.

3 Mar 2010

Researchers have traced protein that stops cells from becoming cancerous

In the dominoes that make up human cells, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have traced another step of the process that stops cells from becoming cancerous.

17 Feb 2010

Preclinical data of Geron's telomerase inhibitor drug published

Geron Corporation today announced the publication of preclinical data demonstrating that its telomerase inhibitor drug, imetelstat (GRN163L), inhibited telomerase activity and reduced tumor size in xenograft models of glioblastoma, and inhibited the activity of glioblastoma stem cells in culture.

6 Jan 2010

Experimental lung cancer drug promising against brain cancer glioblastoma and prostate cancer

An experimental drug currently being tested against breast and lung cancer shows promise in fighting the brain cancer glioblastoma and prostate cancer, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in two preclinical studies.

4 Jan 2010

Reduced calories increase human cell lifespan

Going back for a second dessert after your holiday meal might not be the best strategy for living a long, cancer-free life say researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That's because they've shown exactly how restricted calorie diets-specifically in the form of restricted glucose-help human cells live longer. This discovery, published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) could help lead to drugs and treatments that slow human aging and prevent cancer.

23 Dec 2009

Calorie-intake restriction can benefit longevity and help prevent cancer

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed the death of precancerous human-lung cells, reducing cancer's spread and growth rate.

18 Dec 2009

Nobel Prize discovery opens new perspectives for detection and prevention of age-related diseases

This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three American scientists Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for the discovery of "how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase”. The research contributed to the understanding of how telomeres protect chromosomes from degradation and identified telomerase, the enzyme that preserves telomere length and integrity.

11 Dec 2009

Interim data from Geron's GRNVAC1 phase II trial for AML presented

Geron Corporation today announced the presentation of interim data from its phase II trial of GRNVAC1, an autologous dendritic cell vaccine targeting telomerase, in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

8 Dec 2009