Tag Archives: gene

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. …

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. …

Cell maturity pathway is deleted or weak in glioblastoma multiforme

Stuck in what amounts to cellular adolescence, these precursor cells accumulate, contributing to the variability among glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells that make it so difficult to treat, said first author Jian Hu, Ph.D., instructor of Genomic Medicine. "This arrested development is driven by the GBM cells’ plasticity — their stem-cell-like ability to produce many types of cells — and the breakdown of the cellular maturation process known as terminal differentiation," said senior author and MD Anderson President Ronald DePinho, M.D…

Study shows MicroRNAs can trigger lymphomas

The six "microRNA" molecules were already known to be overproduced in lymphomas and in many other human cancers, but no one had demonstrated that they can be the prime cause of such cancers — until now. The new study also identified the major biological pathways through which these microRNAs ignite and maintain cancerous growth. "We were able to show how this microRNA cluster can be the main driver of cancer, and so we now can start to think about therapies to combat its effects," said TSRI Assistant Professor Changchun Xiao. Xiao was the senior investigator for the study, which appeared this week in an advance online version of the EMBO Journal, a publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization. …

Scientists learn how soy foods protect against colon cancer

"In our study, we report a change in the expression of three genes that control an important signaling pathway," said Hong Chen, a U of I professor of food science and human nutrition. The cells in the lining of the human gut turn over and are completely replaced weekly, she noted. "However, in 90 percent of colon cancer patients, an important growth-promoting signal is always on, leading to uncontrolled growth and malignancies. …