Aberrant mTOR signaling impairs whole body physiology
The protein mTOR is a central controller of growth and metabolism. Deregulation of mTOR signaling increases the risk of developing metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cancer. In the...
View ArticleCellular protein may be key to longevity
Researchers have found that levels of a regulatory protein called ATF4, and the corresponding levels of the molecules whose expression it controls, are elevated in the livers of mice exposed to...
View ArticleCancer suppressor gene links metabolism with cellular aging
The tumor suppressor protein p53 is an attractive target for drug developers. But this path has so far proven difficult, as most p53 regulatory proteins operate via protein-protein interactions, which...
View ArticleTeam finds general mechanism that accelerates tumor development
ICREA professor Raúl Méndez publishes a study in Nature describing how the CPBE1 protein "takes the brakes off" the production of proteins associated with the cell switch from being healthy to...
View ArticleSame signaling enzymes can trigger two different processes in the cell
Stroke, heart attacks and numerous other common disorders result in a massive destruction of cells and tissues called necrosis. It's a violent event: As each cell dies, its membrane ruptures, releasing...
View ArticleOne step closer to understanding biology behind genetic variants linked to...
(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and University of Cambridge have unpicked genetic variants that affect the formation of blood cells. They found that around a third...
View ArticleModulating the immune system to combat metastatic cancer
Cancer cells spread and grow by avoiding detection and destruction by the immune system. Stimulation of the immune system can help to eliminate cancer cells; however, there are many factors that cause...
View ArticleResearchers discover new proteasome regulatory mechanism
Dysfunction of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) has been detected in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and certain types of cancer. Such dysfunction is...
View ArticleExercise rescues mutated neural stem cells
CHARGE syndrome is a severe developmental disorder affecting multiple organs. It affects 1 in 8500 newborns worldwide. The majority of patients carry a mutation in a gene called CHD7. How this single...
View ArticleScientists discover kill-switch controls immune-suppressing cells
Scientists have uncovered the mechanism that controls whether cells that are able to suppress immune responses live or die.
View ArticleCompounds outsmart solid tumors' malfunctioning machinery
Molecular biologists in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio have found a novel way to fine-tune the activity of cells' protein-disposing machinery, with...
View ArticleScientists discover gene that controls the birth of neurons
Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have discovered an unusual gene that controls the generation of neurons. This important finding, which is crucial in understanding serious...
View ArticleKey regulator of blood vessel formation could be a potential new target for...
During formation of the vascular system, successively smaller blood vessels sprout from existing ones to form networks of capillaries in patterns uniquely adapted to the function of the organ they...
View ArticleMucus might prove useful in treating IBD, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease
Imagine mucus—which most people find unpleasant—actually helping your body maintain its equilibrium, prevent inflammation, and reduce food allergy problems.
View ArticleNo 'brakes': Study finds mechanism for increased activity of oncogene in...
The increased activation of a key oncogene in head and neck cancers could be the result of mutation and dysfunction of regulatory proteins that are supposed to keep the gene, which has the potential to...
View ArticleExercising restraint to stall tumor growth
Many proteins undergo an assembly line-style process of glycosylation as they travel from a cellular structure called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus and on through its various...
View ArticleResearchers identify genes linked to cataract formation
When cataracts encroach on the eyes, the only effective remedy is to surgically replace the eyes' lenses with synthetic substitutes.
View ArticleIron regulators join war on pathogens
Proteins responsible for controlling levels of iron in the body also play an important role in combatting infection, according to a study published today in Cell Host & Microbe.
View ArticleStudy suggests new way to help the immune system fight off sleeping sickness...
Some infectious diseases are particularly difficult to treat because of their ability to evade the immune system. One such illness, African sleeping sickness, is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma...
View ArticleResearchers discover a critical cellular 'off' switch for the inflammatory...
Working with human immune cells in the laboratory, Johns Hopkins researchers report they have identified a critical cellular "off" switch for the inflammatory immune response that contributes to...
View Article