Tag Archives: scholar

Study identifying cell of origin for large, disfiguring nerve tumors lays groundwork for development of new therapies

“This advance provides new insight into the steps that lead to tumor development and suggests ways to develop therapies to prevent neurofibroma formation where none exist today,” said Dr. Lu Le, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, published online and in Cancer Cell…

Optimal particle size for anticancer nanomedicines discovered

“To develop next generation nanomedicines with superior anti-cancer attributes, we must understand the correlation between their physicochemical properties — specifically, particle size — and their interactions with biological systems,” explains Jianjun Cheng, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In a recent study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cheng and his collaborators systematically evaluated the size-dependent biological profiles of three monodisperse drug-silica nanoconjugates at 20, 50 and 200 nm…

‘Achilles heel’ in metabolic pathway identified, could lead to new treatments for lung cancer

At the heart of this pathway lies PPARγ (peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor gamma), a protein that regulates glucose and lipid metabolism in normal cells. Researchers demonstrated that by activating PPARγ with antidiabetic drugs in lung cancer cells, they could stop these tumor cells from dividing. “We found that activation of PPARγ causes a major metabolic change in cancer cells that impairs their ability to handle oxidative stress,” said Dr…

Long-sought drug candidate can halt tumor growth, scientists demonstrate

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) tried a similar strategy when they attempted to disrupt the function of MYC, a cancer regulator thought to be “undruggable.” The researchers found that a credit card-like molecule they developed somehow moves in and disrupts the critical interactions between MYC and its binding partner. The research, published the week of August 11 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also shows the drug candidate can stop tumor growth in animal models. …

‘Normal’ bacteria vital for keeping intestinal lining intact

The research involved the intestinal microbiome, which contains some 100 trillion bacteria. The role of these microorganisms in promoting or preventing disease is a major emerging field of study. Einstein scientists found that absorption of a specific bacterial byproduct is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the intestinal epithelium — the single-cell layer responsible for keeping intestinal bacteria and their toxins inside the gut and away from the rest of the body…

Epigenetics enigma resolved

The finding is important for the field of epigenetics because Tet enzymes chemically modify DNA, changing signposts that tell the cell’s machinery "this gene is shut off" into other signs that say "ready for a change." Tet enzymes’ roles have come to light only in the last five years; they are needed for stem cells to maintain their multipotent state, and are involved in early embryonic and brain development and in cancer. The results, which could help scientists understand how Tet enzymes are regulated and look for drugs that manipulate them, were published online on Dec. …