Tag Archives: institute

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. …

New approach in the treatment of breast cancer

"Our results reveal that the Ret enzyme (Ret kinase) may be an attractive and novel therapeutic target in selected groups of breast cancer patients," says Lukas Kenner from the Clinical Institute of Pathology at the MedUni Vienna and Head of the Vienna team, summarising the results of the study that have now been published in the magazine "EMBO Molecular Medicine." Initial trials with specific Ret inhibitors have shown that the spread of cancer and the number of metastases in the lungs can be reduced if the activity of the Ret enzymes in tumour cells is blocked. The tests so far have used two blocking substances that are already known. Blockade of the Ret enzyme reduces tumour growth The scientists investigated tumour tissue from more than 80 breast cancer patients, using antibodies to quantify the Ret protein in the samples. …

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. …

Chemists’ work will aid drug design to target cancer and inflammatory disease

The researchers, from the lab of Charles Dann III, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dann said the results should help chemists create more effective antifolate drugs, which act by interfering with the ability of folates — also called folic acid or vitamin B9 — to perform tasks that are essential for cell growth. …

Breast cancer surgery linked to swollen arm syndrome

The findings in a new paper Incidence of unilateral arm lymphoedema after breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, reveal the invasiveness of surgery to treat breast cancer increases the risk of developing arm lymphoedema. Lead author of the study Tracey DiSipio, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said women who had undergone an axillary lymph node dissection — an invasive surgery to remove lymph nodes under the arm — were four times more likely to suffer swollen or disfigured arms. …