Transcription Factors News and Research

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BUSM researchers discover genes involved in formation of lung tumors

The lung transcription factor Nkx2-1 is an important gene regulating lung formation and normal respiratory functions after birth. Alterations in the expression of this transcription factor can lead to diseases such as lung interstitial disease, post-natal respiratory distress and lung cancer.

3 Mar 2015

Scientists find new links between inflammation and tissue regeneration

Almost all injuries, even minor skin scratches, trigger an inflammatory response, which provides protection against invading microbes but also turns on regenerative signals needed for healing and injury repair - a process that is generally understood but remains mysterious in its particulars.

26 Feb 2015

Scientists demonstrate the importance of RNA editing in melanoma development

The importance of RNA editing in melanoma has been demonstrated by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study revealed that a lack of RNA editing, a process by which information inside RNA molecules is transformed, leads to tumor growth and progression through manipulation of proteins.

17 Feb 2015

SensiQ Technologies and Inventiva set up a European Center of Excellence in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technologies

The SPR Center of Excellence is based in Dijon, France. Inventiva’s existing pharmaceutical discovery platform will now include SensiQ SPR technology, which strengthens Inventiva’s current service offering.

10 Feb 2015

CNIO researchers identify new mechanism that influences differentiation of keratinocytes

The formation of human skin involves a cascade of biochemical signals, which are not well understood. However, they are very important since their failure may cause diseases, such as Atopic Dermatitis and skin cancers, which affect more than 25% of the human population.

16 Jan 2015

Study finds difference between results from IHC and quantitative molecular techniques

The cause of type 1 diabetes remains unknown. Several studies using immunohistochemistry (IHC) have independently reported hyperexpression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I on pancreatic islet cells in young patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. Investigators have therefore suggested that HLA hyperexpression may be an important first step in the development of type 1 diabetes.

12 Jan 2015

New opportunity for developing simple test to measure E2F4 activity in ER+ breast cancer patients

By looking at the expression levels of downstream genes of the regulators in breast cancer, investigators at Dartmouth Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Chao Cheng, PhD, have identified a gene signature in E2F4 that is predictive of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer.

8 Jan 2015

Research findings may lead to new treatment strategies for Ewing sarcoma

The genetic abnormality that drives the bone cancer Ewing sarcoma operates through two distinct processes - both activating genes that stimulate tumor growth and suppressing those that should keep cancer from developing. These findings by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators, published in the November issue of Cancer Cell, may lead to new therapies targeting these aberrant mechanisms.

18 Dec 2014

Penn study has implications for developing new cell-based treatments for skin disease

As the main component of connective tissue in the body, fibroblasts are the most common type of cell. Taking advantage of that ready availability, scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Wistar Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, and New Jersey Institute of Technology have discovered a way to repurpose fibroblasts into functional melanocytes, the body's pigment-producing cells.

16 Dec 2014

New MIT study implicates RNA-binding proteins in regulation of cancer

A new study from MIT implicates a family of RNA-binding proteins in the regulation of cancer, particularly in a subtype of breast cancer. These proteins, known as Musashi proteins, can force cells into a state associated with increased proliferation.

16 Dec 2014

Researchers reveal how cancer cells succeed at entrapping genetic program of growth inhibition

Healthy cells reduce their growth when there is a lack of oxygen (hypoxia). This makes it even more surprising that hypoxia is a characteristic feature of malignant tumours. In two publications in the current edition of the "Nature Communications" journal, researchers from Goethe University and Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen report on how cancer cells succeed at circumventing the genetic program of growth inhibition.

25 Nov 2014

TSRI scientists find simple method to convert human skin cells into sensory neurons

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found a simple method to convert human skin cells into the specialized neurons that detect pain, itch, touch and other bodily sensations. These neurons are also affected by spinal cord injury and involved in Friedreich's ataxia, a devastating and currently incurable neurodegenerative disease that largely strikes children.

25 Nov 2014

SRY protein alters specific gender-related tissue in males before birth

Case Western Reserve researchers have identified a protein mutation that alters specific gender-related tissue in males before birth and can contribute to the development of cancer as well as other less life-threatening challenges.

21 Nov 2014

Study: Hedgehog cell signaling pathway may play role in breast cancer metastasis

Molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in breast cancer but exactly why they cause metastasis and tumor growth has been little understood…until now.

14 Nov 2014

Effecting changes to FosB gene could help control addiction, depression

Regulation of a single, specific gene in a brain region related to drug addiction and depression is sufficient to reduce drug and stress responses, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published October 27 online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

12 Nov 2014

Researchers find way to defeat elusive target proteins in cancer cells

Researchers at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center have found a way to defeat one of the most tantalizing yet elusive target proteins in cancer cells - employing a strategy that turns the protein's own molecular machinations against it.

9 Nov 2014

Scientists may have discovered new way to repair damaged tissue

By transforming human scar cells into blood vessel cells, scientists at Houston Methodist may have discovered a new way to repair damaged tissue. The method, described in an upcoming issue of Circulation (early online), appeared to improve blood flow, oxygenation, and nutrition to areas in need.

9 Nov 2014

Induced neural stem cells hold promise for therapeutic transplantation

Induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) created from adult cells hold promise for therapeutic transplantation, but their potential in this capacity has been limited by failed efforts to maintain such cells in the desirable multi-potent NSC state without continuous expression of the transcription factors used initially to reprogram them.

7 Nov 2014

Inventiva’s IVA337 receives EMA COMP positive opinion on orphan drug designation for SSc treatment

Inventiva, a drug discovery company that focuses on therapeutic approaches involving transcription factors and epigenetic targets, today announces that the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given a positive opinion on the designation of IVA337 as an orphan medicinal product.

4 Nov 2014

Epicure project: an interview with Frédéric Cren

Epicure is a project led by Inventiva and Institut Curie that aims to deliver pre-clinical candidates on two novel epigenetic targets that have been selected due to their potential to activate immune responses against cancer cells. In addition one of these two targets has potential in respiratory indications such as asthma or COPD.

3 Nov 2014