Feature Channels: Cell Biology

• share
• favorite_border

A newly identified signaling pathway that stimulates glucose uptake in brown fat cells might be useful for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity.

• share
• favorite_border

By transforming human scar cells into blood vessel cells, scientists 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.

• share
• favorite_border

Study shows that one way to solve problems of synthesis of natural compounds is to figure out how an organism solves the problem itself, and then modify it for a particular use.

• share
• favorite_border

Our genetic makeup influences whether we are fat or thin by shaping which types of microbes thrive in our body, according to a Cornell-led study published today in the journal Cell.

• share
• favorite_border

Induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) hold promise for therapeutic transplantation, but their potential in this capacity has been limited by failed efforts to maintain such cells in their multi-potent NSC state. Now, Whitehead Institute scientists have created iNSCs that remain in the multi-potent state—without ongoing expression of reprogramming factors. This allows the iNSCs to self-renew repeatedly to generate cells in quantities sufficient for therapy.

• share
• favorite_border

Basic research in 2002 and years of follow-up studies led UAB’s Anath Shalev, M.D., to a human trial of a diabetes drug unlike any in use.

• share
• favorite_border

Within weeks of publishing surprising new insights about how zebrafish get their stripes, the same University of Washington group is now able to explain how to "erase" them.

• share
• favorite_border

NYU Langone yeast geneticists report they have developed a novel tool — dubbed “the telomerator” — that could redefine the limits of synthetic biology and advance how successfully living things can be engineered or constructed in the laboratory based on an organism’s genetic, chemical base-pair structure.

• share
• favorite_border

A team of Whitehead Institute scientists has discovered the surprising manner in which an enigmatic protein known as SUUR acts to control gene copy number during DNA replication. It’s a finding that could shed new light on the formation of fragile genomic regions associated with chromosomal abnormalities.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA scientists show that two genes not previously known to be involved with the immune system play an active role in directing stem cells to fight infection

• share
• favorite_border

Plants rely on sunlight to make their food, but they also need protection from its harmful rays, just like humans do. Recently, scientists discovered a group of molecules in plants that shields them from sun damage. Now, in an article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, one team reports on the mechanics of how these natural plant sunscreens work.

• share
• favorite_border

KU Cancer Center researchers have identified a protein that could prevent metastasis and recurrence of breast cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

Fourteen years ago, several genes were discovered that are more active in tumor-associated blood vessels than in normal blood vessels. New research now reveals the normal function of one of those genes and suggests it could be a good target for anticancer drug therapy.

• share
• favorite_border

A common protein plays a different role than previously thought in the opening and closing of channels that let ions flow in and out of our cells, researchers at Johns Hopkins report. Those channels are critical to life, as having the right concentrations of sodium and calcium ions in cells enables healthy brain communication, heart contraction and many other processes. The new study reveals that a form of calmodulin long thought to be dormant actually opens these channels wide. The finding is likely to bring new insight into disorders caused by faulty control of these channels, such as cardiac arrhythmias, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, the researchers say.

• share
• favorite_border

Amoebas aren’t the only cells that crawl: Movement is crucial to development, wound healing and immune response in animals, not to mention cancer metastasis. In two new studies from Johns Hopkins, researchers answer long-standing questions about how complex cells sense the chemical trails that show them where to go — and the role of cells’ internal “skeleton” in responding to those cues.

• share
• favorite_border

Six Case Western Reserve scientists are part of an international team that has discovered two compounds that show promise in decreasing inflammation in diseases such as ulcerative colitis and arthritis. The compounds appear to curtail inflammation-triggering signals from RIPK2. These findings appear in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

• share
• favorite_border

Salk scientists identify a promising target for HIV/AIDS treatment

• share
• favorite_border

A new imaging platform developed by Eric Betzig and colleagues at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus offers another leap forward for light microscopy. The new technology collects high-resolution images rapidly and minimizes damage to cells, meaning it can image the three-dimensional activity of molecules, cells, and embryos in fine detail over longer periods than was previously possible. Betzig was one of three scientists who shared the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry earlier this month.

• share
• favorite_border

The development of a new organism from the joining of two single cells is a carefully orchestrated endeavor. But even before sperm meets egg, an equally elaborate set of choreographed steps must occur to ensure successful sexual reproduction. Those steps, known as reproductive cell division or meiosis, split the original number of chromosomes in half so that offspring will inherit half their genetic material from one parent and half from the other.

• share
• favorite_border

A new comprehensive analysis of thyroid cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network has identified markers of aggressive tumors, which could allow for better targeting of appropriate treatments to individual patients.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a way to decrease deadly protein deposits in the heart, kidney and other organs associated with a group of human diseases called the systemic amyloid diseases.

• share
• favorite_border

UNC researchers discover a subpopulation of melanoma cancer cells in blood vessels of tumors. These cells, which mimic non-cancerous endothelial cells that normally populate blood vessels, could provide researchers with another target for cancer therapies.

• share
• favorite_border

The excessive activity of repair cells in the early stages of tissue recovery sets the stage for fibrosis by priming the activation of an important growth factor, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology.

• share
• favorite_border

While megakaryocytes are best known for producing platelets that heal wounds, these “mega” cells found in bone marrow also play a critical role in regulating stem cells according to new research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. In fact, hematopoietic stem cells differentiate to generate megakaryocytes in bone marrow. The Stowers study is the first to show that hematopoietic stem cells (the parent cells) can be directly controlled by their own progeny (megakaryocytes).

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have made a surprising finding about the aggregates of misfolded cellular proteins that have been linked to aging-related disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. The researchers report their results in the October 16, 2014 online issue of the journal Cell.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have identified the long-sought activating molecules for a rare but crucial subset of immune system cells that help rally other white blood cells to fight infection.

• share
• favorite_border

The proteins that drive DNA replication—the force behind cellular growth and reproduction—are some of the most complex machines on Earth. The multistep replication process involves hundreds of atomic-scale moving parts that rapidly interact and transform. Mapping that dense molecular machinery is one of the most promising and challenging frontiers in medicine and biology.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists reveal crucial steps and surprising structures in the genesis of the enzyme that divides the DNA double helix during cell replication

• share
• favorite_border

Study finds the role of Tbx5 is essential in regulating development of cells in the heart.

• share
• favorite_border

A Mount Sinai-led research team has discovered a new kind of stem cell that can become either a liver cell or a cell that lines liver blood vessels, according to a study published today in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

• share
• favorite_border

By studying a protein called beta-1,3-glucan recognition protein in the blood of a caterpillar, researchers have found a genetic mechanism that may help trigger an insect's immune system into killing pathogens in the insect's blood.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at the IRCM and the University of Montreal discovered a mechanism that promotes the progression of medulloblastoma, the most common brain tumour found in children. The team, led by Frédéric Charron, PhD, found that a protein known as Sonic Hedgehog induces DNA damage, which causes the cancer to develop.

• share
• favorite_border

Cornell University researchers have uncovered details of how the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) enters host cells, and offer possible new avenues for treatment.

• share
• favorite_border

Using a recently developed biomarker of aging known as an epigenetic clock, UCLA researchers working closely with a German team of investigators have found for the first time that obesity greatly accelerates aging of the liver.

• share
• favorite_border

Like a marching band falling out of step, muscle cells fail to perform in unison in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Researchers reveal how this breakdown leads to the proliferation of stiff fibrotic tissue within muscles.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center report that the FGF21 hormone may be a reliable predictor of altered fructose metabolism and provide the basis for a "fructose tolerance test."

• share
• favorite_border

UI researchers have found a gene in a soil amoeba that can overcompensate for the specific mutations of a similar gene. In humans, those genetic mutations can often lead to tumor growth. Researchers are now looking for a separate human gene that could overcompensate for mutations in the same way.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have developed a technique to jump-start the body's systems for creating blood vessels, opening the door for potential new treatments for diseases whose impacts include amputation and blindness.

• share
• favorite_border

Using X-rays and neutron beams, a team of researchers have revealed the inner workings of a master switch that regulates basic cellular functions, but that also, when mutated, contributes to cancer, cardiovascular disease and other deadly disorders.

• share
• favorite_border

UNC researchers discovered that one gene-regulating protein called Bre1 must be maintained in the proper amount for other epigenetic players to do their jobs properly. It’s a key coordinator in the sort of cellular scenes that can turn a healthy cell into a cancer cell.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have created a synthetic molecule that mimics “good” cholesterol and have shown it can reduce plaque buildup in the arteries of animal models. The molecule, taken orally, improved cholesterol in just two weeks.

• share
• favorite_border

Using X-rays and neutron beams, a team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, University of Utah and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have teased out new information about Protein Kinase A, a ubiquitous master switch that helps regulate fundamental cellular functions like energy consumption and interactions with hormones, neurotransmitters and drugs.

• share
• favorite_border

The surprising discovery of a previously unidentified class of lipid molecules that enhance insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control offers a promising new avenue for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

• share
• favorite_border

Using an innovative algorithm that analyzes gene regulatory and signaling networks, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found that loss of a gene called KLHL9 is the driving force behind the most aggressive form of glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

Heart attack survivors often experience dangerous heart rhythm disturbances during treatment designed to restore blood flow to the injured heart muscle, a common and confounding complication of an otherwise lifesaving intervention. Now a duo of Johns Hopkins researchers working with rat heart cells have shown that such post-heart attack arrhythmias are likely triggered by something akin to a power grid failure inside the injured cardiac cells.

• share
• favorite_border

It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Scientists searching for the gene or gene combination that affects even one plant or animal characteristic must sort through massive amounts of data, according to associate professor Xijin Ge of the mathematics and statistics department at South Dakota State University. He leads a bioinformatics research group, which provides the expertise that plant and animal scientists need to uncover how genes and proteins affect cell functions. Just one experiment to analyze gene expression can produce one terabyte of sequence data, Ge explained. “That’s a little beyond many biologists' comfort zone.”

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found an “Achilles heel” in a metabolic pathway crucial to stopping the growth of lung cancer cells.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a microRNA molecule as a surprisingly crucial player in managing cell survival and growth. The findings underscore the emerging recognition that non-coding RNAs help regulate basic cellular processes and may be key to developing new drugs and therapies.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that T-cells – a type of white blood cell that learns to recognize and attack microbial pathogens – are activated by a pain receptor.

• share
• favorite_border

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from breast cancer patients were isolated from blood and grown in the laboratory for extensive genetic analysis. Such analysis enabled the identification of the most effective cancer drug or drug combination for each patient's tumor -- a significant step towards "precision" cancer treatment.