Transcription Factors News and Research

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New methodology helps investigate unfolding of DNA

NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have developed a powerful new method to investigate the discrete steps necessary to turn on individual genes and examine how the process goes wrong in cancer and other diseases. The finding, based on seven years of research and described in the April 9 issue of Molecular Cell, allows scientists to investigate the unfolding of DNA, a process required for gene activation.

9 Apr 2010

Survey unveils impact of gene regulation on human health

Researchers are only beginning to understand how individual variation in gene regulation can have a lasting impact on one's health and susceptibility to certain diseases. Now, an ambitious survey of the human genome has identified differences in the binding of master regulators called transcription factors to DNA that affect how genes are expressed in different people.

19 Mar 2010

Gene regulation rather than genes make us unique

Once the human genome was sequenced in 2001, the hunt was on for the genes that make each of us unique. But scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and Yale and Stanford Universities in the USA, have found that we differ from each other mainly because of differences not in our genes, but in how they're regulated - turned on or off, for instance.

18 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

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

Scientists succeed in mapping entire network of DNA-binding transcription factors

In a significant leap forward in the understanding of how specific types of tissue are determined to develop in mammals, an international team of scientists has succeeded in mapping the entire network of DNA-binding transcription factors and their interactions. This global network, indicating which factors can combine to determine cell fate, will be published in the March 5 issue of the journal Cell.

6 Mar 2010

TLR's role in HIV-1 reactivation induced by periodontal pathogens

Today, during the 39th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research, convening at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, lead researcher O.A. Gonzalez (University of Kentucky, Lexington) will present a poster of a study titled "TLR2 and TLR9 Activation by Periodontal Pathogens induce HIV-1 Reactivation."

5 Mar 2010

Study shows inhibiting critical genes may halt leukaemia cell growth

An international team of scientists studying acute forms of Leukaemia have identified a new drug target to inhibit the genes which are vital for the growth of diseased cells.

4 Mar 2010

Gene 'addiction' of leukaemia cells

An international team of scientists studying acute forms of Leukaemia have identified a new drug target to inhibit the genes which are vital for the growth of diseased cells. The research, reported in EMBO Molecular Medicine, reveals how leukaemia cells become 'addicted' to genes, which if targeted could prevent diseased cells from developing.

3 Mar 2010

Body repairs itself through microvesicles: New hope for tissue regeneration

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have discovered how cells communicate with each other during times of cellular injury. The findings shed new light on how the body repairs itself when organs become diseased, through small particles known as microvesicles, and offers hope for tissue regeneration.

27 Feb 2010

UAMS researchers identify age-related mechanism as primary cause of osteoporosis

Marking a shift in decades of thought on the cause of osteoporosis, researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have identified an age-related mechanism - not a decrease of the hormone estrogen - as the primary culprit.

27 Feb 2010

Mutations in MeCP2 cause autism spectrum disorder Rett Syndrome

A paper published online today in Molecular Cell proposes that Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) impacts the entire genome in neurons, rather than acting as a regulator of specific genes. Mutations in MeCP2 cause the autism spectrum disorder Rett Syndrome as well as some cases of neuropsychiatric problems including autism, schizophrenia and learning disabilities.

26 Feb 2010

Biochemical link between misery and death discovered

In ongoing work to identify how genes interact with social environments to impact human health, UCLA researchers have discovered what they describe as a biochemical link between misery and death. In addition, they found a specific genetic variation in some individuals that seems to disconnect that link, rendering them more biologically resilient in the face of adversity.

25 Feb 2010

Arsenic exposure may increase cancer risk, says study

Researchers have found a new oncogenic signaling pathway by which the environmental toxin arsenic may lead to adverse health effects, including bladder cancer. These study results are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

24 Feb 2010

Mechanism by which Plasmodium replicates itself in human blood to spread disease identified

Malaria remains one of the most deadly infectious diseases. Yet, how Plasmodium, the malaria parasite, regulates its infectious cycle has remained an enigma despite decades of rigorous research.

19 Feb 2010

Researchers identify 1.1M base pairs of DNA in soybean genome

In 2009, soybeans represented an almost $30 billion industry in the U.S. alone, making soybeans the second-most profitable crop next to corn. Worldwide, soybeans have been used in human foods and livestock feed for centuries and have been a key component in industrial products, such as plastics and soy biodiesel, an environmentally friendly fuel.

2 Feb 2010

Scientists discover new mechanism that explains role of EBV in tumor growth

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a virus of the herpes family, has two distinct life phases: After infecting a cell it first goes into a resting phase. Under certain circumstances the virus can become active - and then induces tumor growth or promotes its synthesis in the cell.

18 Jan 2010

Scientists go beyond single-gene models to probe inborn heart defects

Studying genes that regulate early heart development in animals, scientists have solved a puzzle about one gene's role, finding that it acts in concert with a related gene. Their finding contributes to understanding how the earliest stages of heart development may go awry, resulting in congenital heart defects in humans.

12 Jan 2010

Mirna Therapeutics receives ETF award to develop miRNA therapeutics for multiple cancers

Mirna Therapeutics announced today that the Company received a $5 million award from the State of Texas through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (“ETF”). The ETF was created with the goal of growing new and existing businesses to accelerate the introduction of new products and services in the marketplace. This is the largest award of this type that has ever been granted.

11 Jan 2010

Transcription factor promotes stem cell proliferation to repair tissue damage

The master regulator of muscle differentiation, MyoD, functions early in myogenesis to help stem cells proliferate in response to muscle injury, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University. The study appears online Jan. 4 in the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).

5 Jan 2010