"It has been noted that cancer resembles a state of chronic wound healing, in which the wound-healing program is erroneously activated and perpetuated," says Professor Adrian Krainer of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). …
CTCs can also be tested to identify genetic mutations associated with a tumor. Many newer cancer medications are designed to target specific genetic mutations, so they work best for limited types and stages of cancer. CTCs can provide a quick method to help physicians choose the most appropriate targeted therapy for a particular patient…
The discovery offers hope for treating many types of cancer that are driven to grow and spread through the actions of a cancer-causing protein called MYC. Up to 70 per cent of human cancers, including many leukemias and lymphomas, have unusually high levels of MYC, which causes cancerous changes in cells by forcing them into abnormally rapid growth…
"In testing on laboratory mice, our technique resulted in significant improvement in breast cancer tumor reduction as compared to conventional treatment techniques," says Dr. Zhen Gu, senior author of a paper on the research and an assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. …
"Patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer, as well as those with locally advanced disease that cannot be surgically removed, have no curative options," said John R. …
Proteins in cells communicate like relay runners in a competition. The sticks that are transferred between the runners are the "signals." These signals are passed within the cell from one protein to another and ensure cell growth and survival. …
A report on the discovery, published in the Dec. 5 issue of Science, also suggests that a normal immune system is critical for preventing the development of common types of cancer. According to researchers, patients with scleroderma often make immune proteins or antibodies to another protein, called RPC1. These antibodies are believed to cause the organ damage characteristic of the disease, and the reason behind this antibody production has remained unknown…
A major new study in the journal Nature sets out the structure of the new family, called glutamate intramembrane proteases – the founding member of which plays a critical role in transforming healthy cells into cancer cells. The research, funded by Cancer Research UK and conducted by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, defined the structure of a protein called Rce1, and established it as the first known member of a whole new protein family. …
potential malaria drug target shown to be essential to all stages of the Plasmodium life cycle; imidazopyrazines impede its activity throughout this process. Led by Elizabeth Winzeler, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Diego and Novartis Research Foundation, the research was published online today in Nature. …
Maxim Frolov, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues investigated the effects of a mutation in a gene called E2F, which controls other genes responsible for initiating programmed cell death, a normal function in most cells. Cells undergo programmed cell death — or apoptosis — when they are no longer needed, as a normal part of aging, or in response to environmental factors like radiation that damage cellular DNA. …