Tag Archives: biology

High-dose radiation therapy for bladder cancer has comparable tumor control compared to surgery

Cystectomy (partial or whole bladder removal surgery) is often the standard treatment for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer; however, advanced RT techniques that spare the bladder may be an effective alternative for patients who are unsuitable for or unwilling to undergo cystectomy. This research was conducted to determine if some of the drawbacks of RT of the bladder, such as local recurrence and late toxicity risks, could be reduced with a lower dose of RT being delivered to the areas of the bladder outside of the tumor region, and to assess the tumor control and toxicity of RT. …

Foods toxins that can cause cervical, liver cancer

The research won the National Award in Food Science and Technology in the Science Professional in Foods category organized jointly by CONACYT (National Council of Science and Technology) and the Mexican Coca-Cola Industry. It explains that both types of cancer can be originated by the ingestion of food contaminated with aflatoxins produced by the fungi Aspergilus flavus and A. …

Balancing act: Cell senescence, aging related to epigenetic changes

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that epigenetic factors play a role in senescence. Epigenetic factors act on the structures in which genes reside, called chromatin. They found that senescent cells appear to undergo changes in their chromatin and find similar changes in cells that are prematurely aging. Their observations take place deep within cells — inside the chromatin of a cell’s nucleus. …

A more nuanced genetic code: Rules governing expression of developmental genes in embryonic stem cells

This paradoxical state — akin to figuring out how to navigate a red and green traffic signal — has since undergone scrutiny by labs worldwide. What has been postulated is that the control regions (or promoters) of some genes, particularly those critical for development during the undifferentiated state, stay "poised" for plasticity by communicating with both activating and repressive histones, a state biologists term "bivalency." A study by researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research now revisits that notion. In this week’s advance online edition of the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, a team led by Investigator Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., identifies the protein complex that implements the activating histone mark specifically at "poised" genes in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, but reports that its loss has little effect on developmental gene activation during differentiation. …

Successful treatment of triple negative breast cancer by modulation of the OGF-OGFr axis

In the June 2013 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Zagon and colleagues demonstrate that exposure of human breast cancer cell lines to OGF in vitro repressed growth within 24 hr in a receptor-mediated and reversible manner. Treatment with low dosages of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN) provoked a compensatory elevation in endogenous opioids (i.e., OGF) and receptors that interact for 18-20 hr daily following receptor blockade to elicit a robust inhibition of cell proliferation. Because OGF is an endogenous neuropeptide, there are minimal or no side effects. The mechanism of action for OGF is upregulation of the p21 cyclin-dependent inhibitory kinase pathway that delays passage through the cell cycle…

Nanodrug targeting breast cancer cells from the inside adds weapon: Immune system attack

The research team developing the drug — led by scientists at the Nanomedicine Research Center, part of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute in the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center — conducted the study in laboratory mice with implanted human breast cancer cells. Mice receiving the drug lived significantly longer than untreated counterparts and those receiving only certain components of the drug, according to a recent article in the Journal of Controlled Release. Researchers from the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai, the Division of Surgical Oncology at UCLA, and the Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA also participated in the study. …

Way to fight therapy resistant leukemia by blocking DNA repair

Scientists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center report that their experimental combination treatment strategy — using a small molecular inhibitor along with chemotherapy — was particularly effective at stopping a stubborn leukemia called T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or T-ALL. …