Ubiquitin News and Research

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Ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that has been found in almost all cells (''ubiquitously'') with nuclei (eukaryotes). It directs proteins to recycling and other functions.

Moffitt researchers discover novel way to control SETDB1 protein upregulated in cancer

Cancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases. All are driven by cells and genes that escape the normal process of division and begin their own plan to replicate in the body.

8 Jul 2016

Researcher identifies how Itch protein inhibits colonic inflammation and carcinogenesis

Venuprasad Poojary, PhD, an associate investigator at Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR), part of Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, reported this week in the journal Nature Immunology the role of a key protein in the regulatory pathway that is involved in limiting colon inflammation and tumor growth.

30 Jun 2016

Research describes how gene BRCA1 plays vital role in DNA repair

Scientists at the University of Birmingham are a step closer to understanding the role of the gene BRCA1. Changes in this gene are associated with a high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

30 May 2016

Single enzyme doing the work of a trio could offer precise way to treat diseases

Researchers identified a single enzyme doing the work of a trio thought necessary to control a common cellular signaling process being pursued as a therapeutic target.

24 May 2016

Biomedical researcher wins 2016 Gutenberg Research Award for work on programmed cell death

The Gutenberg Research College of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz has chosen to give the 2016 Gutenberg Research Award to American biomedical researcher Dr. Vishva Dixit for his groundbreaking work in the field of programmed cell death.

4 May 2016

Rockefeller scientists study molecular mechanism that causes linker cell death in worms

Some cells are meant to live, and some are meant to die. The linker cell of Caenorhabditis elegans, a tiny worm that is a favored model organism for biologists, is among those destined for termination.

11 Apr 2016

Blood test detects mild traumatic brain injury for up to a week

Researchers report findings of a blood biomarker that consistently detects mild to moderate traumatic brain injury for up to 7 days and quantifies the degree of damage.

31 Mar 2016

CNIO researchers find panoramic view of proteins that intervene in a cellular process

Three years ago, the research team directed by Óscar Fernández-Capetillo, head of the Genomic Instability Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, obtained, for the first time, a panoramic view of the proteins that intervene in one of the most important and delicate cellular processes: the copying of genetic material during cellular division. They observed that the parts of the genome where the DNA was copied were also very rich in the modification by some very particular proteins, SUMOylations, and poor in others, ubiquitinations, but they were unable to understand why.

8 Mar 2016

Scientists solve atomic structure of ubiquitin ligase complex that plays key role in protein degradation

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have solved the atomic structure of a unique ubiquitin ligase complex. Ubiquitin is best known for its role in protein degradation, but more recently seen as important for cell signaling, DNA repair, anti-inflammatory, and immune responses.

21 Jan 2016

New mechanism of differentiation may offer novel therapeutic approaches to blood malignancies, solid tumors

In humans the differentiation of stem cells into hundreds of specialized cell types is vital. Differentiation drives development from fertilized egg to a newborn, and it underlies the continuous replacement of the 5 billion cells that die every hour in an adult. On the downside, mutations in differentiation pathways of different cell types can be drivers of cancers.

13 Jan 2016

Body can control pathogen-induced inflammatory response, find Georgia State researchers

The body can control inflammatory response triggered by invasions of microbial pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, a discovery that could lead to the development of new therapeutic agents for uncontrolled inflammation, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

29 Dec 2015

Researchers outline novel molecular interactions affecting key cancer pathway in humans

Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore have delineated novel molecular interactions affecting the activity of the TGF-β pathway, a key cancer pathway in humans affecting cancer progression.

22 Dec 2015

UofL researchers discover mechanism involved in skeletal muscle repair

Researchers at the University of Louisville have discovered a mechanism involved in skeletal muscle repair that may enable clinicians to boost the effectiveness of adult stem cell therapies for diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

1 Dec 2015

Phase I clinical trial shows investigational anticancer therapeutic is safe, tolerable in lymphoma patients

Results from a phase I clinical trial showed that the first-in-class, investigational, anticancer therapeutic pevonedistat was safe, tolerable, and had some anticancer activity in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma.

11 Nov 2015

Researchers discover new gene that could be a potential therapeutic target for muscle wasting

It is estimated that half of all cancer patients suffer from a muscle wasting syndrome called cachexia. Cancer cachexia impairs quality of life and response to therapy, which increases morbidity and mortality of cancer patients. Currently, there is no approved treatment for muscle wasting but a new study from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and University of Alberta could be a game changer for patients, improving both quality of life and longevity.

15 Sep 2015

Researchers use nanopore technology for early detection of colorectal and lung cancers

Using tiny "nanopore" scanners that can detect individual DNA molecules, Professor Amit Meller and colleagues are on the hunt for biological markers in cancer cells that may help clinicians diagnose colorectal and lung cancers at their earliest stages.

10 Sep 2015

Determining the dynein-dynactin complex structure: an interview with Dr Gabriel C. Lander

This is a macromolecular assembly is made up of two components, dynein and dynactin, that works to move molecular cargo (organelles, RNA, vesicles, proteins, viruses) along microtubule highways within our cells.

16 Aug 2015

Researchers elucidate mechanism that induces skeletal muscle atrophy in patients with congestive heart failure

It is a paradox: Patients with advanced congestive heart failure lose skeletal muscle mass, but their heart muscles become enlarged to provide the body with an adequate supply of blood and thus with oxygen. It has long been known that the protein angiotensin II plays a villainous role in this process, but the exact mechanism has remained unclear.

12 Aug 2015

Scientists reveal potential therapeutic approach to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a very aggressive form of pulmonary fibrosis and has a particularly poor prognosis. This fatal disease, for which so far no causal therapies exist, is characterized by a massive deposition of connective and scar tissue in the lung, which leads to a progressive loss of lung function and ultimately death.

28 Jul 2015

Changes in UCH-L1 and GFAP proteins linked to trauma-related brain damage

Researchers have shown that the levels of two proteins present in blood and cerebrospinal fluid increase significantly at different time points following traumatic brain injury (TBI), confirming their potential value as biomarkers of trauma-related brain damage.

25 Jul 2015