Tag Archives: professor

Nano-dissection identifies genes involved in kidney disease

A new method developed by researchers at Princeton University and the University of Michigan called "in silico nano-dissection" uses computers rather than scalpels to separate and identify genes from specific cell types, enabling the systematic study of genes involved in diseases. The team used the new method to successfully identify genes expressed in cells known as podocytes — the "work-horses" of the kidney — that malfunction in kidney disease. The investigators showed that certain patterns of activity of these genes were correlated with the severity of kidney impairment in patients, and that the computer-based approach was significantly more accurate than existing experimental methods in mice at identifying cell-lineage-specific genes…

Young patients with metastatic colorectal cancer at higher risk

That’s according to research presented to the 2013 European Cancer Congress in Amsterdam. The team of scientists is led by an investigator at University of Colorado Cancer Center. An analysis of 20,034 patients in 24 phase III clinical trials showed that the youngest and oldest patients had the highest risk of disease progression and death, compared to middle-aged patients…

Blood-pressure drug may help improve cancer treatment

"Angiotensin inhibitors are safe blood pressure medications that have been used for over a decade in patients and could be repurposed for cancer treatment," explains Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, director of the Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology at MGH and senior author of the study. "Unlike anti-angiogenesis drugs, which improve tumor blood flow by repairing the abnormal structure of tumor blood vessels, angiotensin inhibitors open up those vessels by releasing physical forces that are applied to tumor blood vessels when the gel-like matrix surrounding them expands with tumor growth." Focusing on how the physical and physiological properties of tumors can inhibit cancer therapies, Jain’s team previously found that losartan improves the distribution within tumors of relatively large molecules called nanomedicines by inhibiting the formation of collagen, a primary constituent of the extracellular matrix…

Cancer cells propagated from early prostate cancer

The scientists’ findings, suggesting that potentially lethal castration-resistant prostate carcinoma cells already exist in some cancer patients at the very early stages of their disease, will be published by PLOS ONE on September 25, 2013. The work describes the isolation and propagation of the earliest prostate cancer cells yet identified in human prostate cancer biopsy samples, allowing the detailed molecular characterization of these very early-stage cancer cells, including analysis of gene expression and mutations. …

Cutting off all points of escape for melanoma cells

They found that resistant melanomas acquired a mutation in the MEK2 gene and multiple copies of the mutant BRAF oncogene, simultaneously decreasing the sensitivity to both drug targets. Their findings also uncovered a new potential target for melanoma therapy, a protein called S6K. Additionally, early studies in a laboratory model for melanoma show that a triple combination of drug inhibitors halted the growth of resistant tumors. "Melanoma tumors are particularly adept at rewiring themselves so that anticancer drugs lose their effectiveness, and we must continue to outthink the disease in order to block off all points at which it can evade therapy," said Jessie Villanueva, Ph.D., assistant professor in Wistar’s NCI-designated Cancer Center and member of The Wistar Institute Melanoma Research Center. …

Protein ‘motif’ crucial to telomerase activity

Their findings are published in the October 8 issue of the journal Structure, available online now. "Telomerase is a unique protein-RNA complex where the protein subunit uses its RNA component as a template to add identical fragments of DNA to the end of chromosomes," said Emmanuel Skordalakes, Ph.D., associate professor in the Gene Expression and Regulation program of Wistar’s NCI-designated Cancer Center. …

Treat the fungus among us with nontoxic medicinal compound

Govindsamy Vediyappan, assistant professor of biology, noticed that diabetic people in developing countries use a medicinal herb called Gymnema slyvestre to help control sugar levels. He decided to study the microbiological use of Gymnema slyvestre — a tropical vine plant found in India, China and Australia — to see if it could treat a common human fungal pathogen called Candida albicans. The investigation was successful on two levels: Vediyappan’s research team found the medicinal compound is both nontoxic and blocks the virulence properties of the fungus so that it is more treatable. The results are important for human health, biomedical applications and potential drug development. …

Clinical tool classifies spots on lung scans of smokers

The findings are expected to have immediate clinical impact worldwide among health professionals who currently diagnose and treat individuals at risk for or who are diagnosed with lung cancer, and provide new evidence for developing and improving lung-cancer screening programs. A total of 12,029 lung cancer nodules observed on CTs of 2,961 current and former smokers were examined in the population-based study. The results, to be published in the Sept. 5th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), will have an immediate impact on clinical practice, says co-principal investigator Dr. …