Distance Helps Re-fuel the Heart
Thomas Jefferson UniversitySeparated entry and exit doors for calcium keep energy production smooth in the powerhouses of heart cells.
Separated entry and exit doors for calcium keep energy production smooth in the powerhouses of heart cells.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have discovered using mice and human clinical specimens, that caspase-2, a protein-cleaving enzyme, is a critical driver of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a chronic and aggressive liver condition. By identifying caspase-2’s critical role, they believe an inhibitor of this enzyme could provide an effective way to stop the pathogenic progression that leads to NASH — and possibly even reverse early symptoms.
Differences in the DNA within the mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells, can determine the severity and progression of heart disease caused by a nuclear DNA mutation. When combined with a nuclear DNA mutation in mice, one mitochondrial variant made heart disease worse, while another variant conferred protection.
UCLA researchers have found that an often overlooked component of a cell, the extracellular matrix, can influence how much sugar the cell consumes and its migratory behavior.
Two Weizmann Institute scientists, Profs. Eran Elinav and Eran Segal, have revealed that our gut microbes' relationship with probiotics may not be as healthy as we think
Ovarian cancer cells that interact with cancer-associated fibroblasts can mobilize glycogen as an energy source, leading to proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Blocking glycogen mobilization in cancer cells might reduce tumor spread.
Mayo Clinic的研究人员确认了HER2阳性乳腺癌生长所需的一个重要新途径,并发现一种名为环肌酸 (cyclocreatine) 的膳食补充剂可能阻止HER2阳性乳腺癌 (HER2 positive breast cancer) 的生长。 他们的研究结果发表在《细胞代谢杂志》(Cell Metabolism) 上。
Los investigadores de Mayo Clinic identificaron una nueva vía importante mediante la cual prolifera el cáncer de mama HER2 positivo y descubrieron que un suplemento alimentario llamado ciclocreatina podría obstruir esa proliferación del cáncer de mama HER2 positivo. Los resultados se publicaron hoy en Cell Metabolism (Metabolismo Celular).
Pesquisadores da Mayo Clinic identificaram uma nova via importante pela qual os cânceres de mama HER2 positivo se desenvolvem e descobriram que um suplemento alimentar chamado ciclocreatina pode bloquear o crescimento do câncer de mama HER2 positivo. As descobertas foram publicadas na Cell Metabolism.
روتشستر، مينيسوتا. – توصل الباحثون في Mayo Clinic إلى مسارٍ جديدٍ مهمٍ تنمو به أورام الثدي الإيجابية HER2 واكتشفوا أن المكملات الغذائية المُسمى سيكلوكرياتين (cyclocreatine) قد تعوق من نمو أورام الثدي الإيجابية HER2. وقد قاموا بنشر النتائج التي توصلوا إليها في Cell Metabolism.
The role of insulin as a boost to the immune system to improve its ability to fight infection has been detailed for the first time by Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI) scientists.
A team of investigators used intraoperative infusions of labeled glucose in patients about to have surgery to remove the kidney cancer to assess how the tumors use glucose.
A group of McMaster researchers has designed and built specialized hardware for their research using an in-house 3D printer. The new lab instrument is capable of collecting massive amounts of data that will help these researchers in their quest to discover new antibiotics.
Best known as a pathogen that causes food poisoning or steals nutrients away from its host, the E. coli bacterium actually plays a critical role in promoting health by producing a compound that helps cells take up iron.
Harvard Medical School researchers identified a molecular link between aging and a major genetic cause of both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, two related neurodegenerative diseases with shared genetic risk factors. The finding reveal possible new targets for treatment of these and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Epithelial cells grown on a plastic dish are worse at segregating their chromosomes than epithelial cells growing in mice, a new study shows. The results may help explain why chromosomes go awry in cancer.
A special strain of soil bacteria has the paradoxical ability to produce highly toxic compounds to protect itself from other organisms without harming itself.
Yale Cancer Center (YCC) scientists have filled in a key gap in understanding the unusual route by which the Human papillomavirus (HPV) infects cells.
A study by researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore has revealed that RUNX proteins are integral to efficient DNA repair via the Fanconi Anemia (FA) pathway.
For the first time, Mount Sinai researchers have identified a way to make large numbers of immune cells that can help prevent cancer reoccurrence, according to a study published in August in Cell Reports.
Blocking nuclear gateways that traffic cancer-promoting molecules to nucleus, could offer a new way to target aggressive cancer.
- Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U), in collaboration with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, have generated the first single cell resolution atlas of genes that control the formation of breast tissue. The atlas provides a comprehensive molecular map that will be used to help researchers understand how breast cancers form and to pinpoint new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat the disease.
Researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and collaborators have identified a way to expand blood-forming, adult stem cells from human umbilical cord blood (hUCB).
Endocrinologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have shown for the first time that brown fat can exert control over skeletal muscle function.
A new study finds that the class of neurons responsible for transmitting information from the inner ear to the brain is composed of three molecularly distinct subtypes. The findings could inform efforts to develop therapeutic strategies to treat or protect against hearing loss.
Researchers at Columbia found that a gene associated with an autoimmune form of hair loss may be activated to boost cancer immunotherapy.
Mice fed a fattening diet develop new liver circadian rhythms that impact the way fat is accumulated and simultaneously burned. The team found that as liver fat production increases, surprisingly, so does the body’s ability to burn fat. These opposing physiological processes reach their peak activity each day around 5 p.m., illustrating an unexpected connection between overeating, circadian rhythms, and fat accumulation in the liver.
“Percolation” theory is helping explain how communities of bacteria can effectively relay signals across long distances. Once regarded as simple microorganisms, communities of bacteria have been found to employ a strategy we use to brew coffee and extract oil from the sea. Percolation helps the microscopic community thrive and survive threats.
In a new study, published in this week’s issue of Cell Reports, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine scrutinized the whole genome sequences of 18 induced pluripotent stem cell lines derived from skin cells that they had reprogrammed to identify and characterize somatic mutations.
Scientists at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus have taken detailed pictures of the entire brain of an adult female fruit fly using transmission electron microscopy.
Using genetic sequencing, scientists have revealed the complete DNA makeup of more than 100 aggressive prostate tumors, pinpointing important genetic errors these deadly tumors have in common. The study lays the foundation for finding new ways to treat prostate cancer, particularly for the most aggressive forms of the disease.
Supplementing a single protein found in the spinal cord could help prevent symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to a new study out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Researchers found high levels of the protein—called mitofusion 2 or Mfn2—prevented nerve degeneration, muscle atrophy, and paralysis in a mouse model of the disease. Since Mfn2 is often depleted during Lou Gehrig’s, the new study suggests supplementing it could be a novel therapeutic approach for the disease.
Travel by airplane has opened the door to experiencing different cultures and exploring natural wonders. That is, if you can get past the jet lag. But what if you could take control of the brain's daily timing system? Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis unlocked a cure for jet lag in mice by activating a small subset of the neurons involved in setting daily rhythms, as reported in a July 12 advance online publication of Neuron.
Scientists have defined the structure and key features of a human immune-surveillance protein that guards against cancer and bacterial and viral infections The identification of two human-specific variations in the protein closes a critical knowledge gap in immunology and cancer biology The variations explain why the human protein is more precise and more selective than mammalian forms of the protein and why it targets certain types of DNA but ignores others The findings can inform the design of more precisely targeted immune therapies against cancer and a range of immune-mediated diseases
UCLA researchers have found that the PGC-1α gene, previously known to control human metabolism, also controls the equilibrium of bone and fat in bone marrow and also how an adult stem cell expresses its final cell type. The findings could lead to a better understanding of the disruption of bone-to-fat ratio in bone marrow and its health consequences, and point to the gene as a therapeutic target in the treatment of osteoporosis and skeletal aging.
Researchers discovered an unexpected twist in the battle versus tumors. Researchers have found that some tumor cells display not only a weapon, but also a brake, essentially becoming a neutralizing function. The unexpected mechanism could help determine whether a cancer patient will respond to immunotherapy.
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) can find an abundance of conflicting advice suggesting that special diets will ease their symptoms. But the evidence is scanty. Laura Piccio, MD, an associate professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has launched a trial to evaluate whether drastically cutting calories twice a week can change the body’s immune environment and the gut microbiome, and potentially change the course of the disease.
The innate NK-cell response requires a rather carefully choreographed interaction of three cell types.
Researchers at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have discovered a new metabolic vulnerability in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that can be targeted by existing drug therapies.
Researchers have found that cancer stem cells exist in more than one state and can change form, sliding back and forth between a dormant state and a rapidly growing state. The cell's metabolism controls this change, suggesting a possible way in to attack the stem cells.
In this study, BIDMC researchers developed a means of tracking the activity of the far-reaching ends of retinal neurons (called boutons) as they deliver visual information to the thalamus, a brain region involved in image processing.
Emerging CAR-T immunotherapies leverage modified versions of patient’s T-cells to target and kill cancer cells. In a new study, published June 28 online in Cell Stem Cell, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of Minnesota report that similarly modified natural killer (NK) cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) also displayed heightened activity against a mouse model of ovarian cancer.
The research offers another approach for tackling diseases that have been considered "undruggable," including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and certain cancers.
For the first time, scientists have directly visualized real-time structural changes in the surface protein of the influenza virus that may help the virus fuse with and enter target cells before hijacking them. Single molecules of the protein were found to stretch toward target cells, then refold and try again 5 to 10 times per second. The discovery may help develop more effective vaccines and better understand other viruses, including Ebola, HIV, and SARS.
Investigators have identified a new cellular pathway that may help explain how arterial inflammation develops into atherosclerosis—deposits of cholesterol, fats and other substances that create plaque, clog arteries and promote heart attacks and stroke. The findings could lead to improved therapies for atherosclerosis, a leading cause of death worldwide.
The microbiome may harbor a gene for drug resistance
Cornell University researchers have discovered there is a division of labor among immune cells that fight invading pathogens in the body.
Proteins commonly known as BRCA – short for BReast CAncer susceptibility gene– serve a critical role in cellular DNA repair, but when mutated they allow genetic errors to replicate, facilitating cancer development. If the BRCA repair system is disabled in cancer cells, the cells simply turn to backup repair mechanisms and adapt to alternative repair pathways, a survival mode that also underlies their ability to evade targeted drug therapies.
Researchers led by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have identified a new subtype of prostate cancer that occurs in about 7 percent of patients with advanced disease. This subset of tumors were responsive to immunotherapy treatment.
Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have captured the one cell that is capable of regenerating an entire organism.