Category Archives: Cell Medicine

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 14-Jan-2014 Contact: Keith Herrell keith.herrell@uc.edu 513-558-4559 University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center CINCINNATIResearchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified key molecular components linking circadian rhythms and cell division cycles in Neurospora crassa, providing insights that could lead to improved disease treatments and drug delivery. The researchers in the UC College of Medicine Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, led by Christian Hong, PhD, published their findings Monday, Jan. 13, online ahead of print in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). "Our work has large implications for the general understanding of the connection between the cell cycle and the circadian clock," says Hong, an assistant professor in the molecular and cellular physiology department who collaborated with an international team of researchers on the project. The circadian rhythm, often referred to as the biological clock, is a cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period and generated by an internal clock synchronized to light-dark cycles and other external cues. "Everything has a schedule, and we are interested in understanding these schedules at a molecular level," Hong says. "We also wanted to know the components that connect two different oscillators (the circadian clock and cell … Continue reading →

Jan. 14, 2014 Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified key molecular components linking circadian rhythms and cell division cycles in Neurospora crassa, providing insights that could lead to improved disease treatments and drug delivery. The researchers in the UC College of Medicine Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, led by Christian Hong, PhD, published their findings Monday, Jan. 13, online ahead of print in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). "Our work has large implications for the general understanding of the connection between the cell cycle and the circadian clock," says Hong, an assistant professor in the molecular and cellular physiology department who collaborated with an international team of researchers on the project. Funding for Hong's research was provided by a four-year, $3.7 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. He also received startup funds from UC's molecular and cellular physiology department. The circadian rhythm, often referred to as the biological clock, is a cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period and generated by an internal clock synchronized to light-dark cycles and other external cues. "Everything has a schedule, and we are … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 13-Jan-2014 Contact: Amy Mone amone1@jhmi.edu 410-614-2915 Johns Hopkins Medicine Johns Hopkins scientists say a previously known but little studied chemical compound targets and shuts down a common cancer process. In studies of laboratory-grown human tumor cell lines, the drug disrupted tumor cell division and prevented growth of advanced cancer cells. In a study described in the January 13 issue of Cancer-Cell, Marikki Laiho, M.D., Ph.D., and her colleagues say their work focused on the ability of a chemical dubbed BMH-21 to sabotage the transcription pathway RNA Polymerase pathway (POL I), shutting down the ability of mutant cancer genes to communicate with cells and replicate. Laiho's research linked the pathway to p53 gene activity. P53 is a tumor suppressor gene, a protein that regulates cell growth, and it is the most frequently mutated suppressor gene in cancer. Transcription pathways are the means by which certain proteins that direct cell division are put into action by cells. Uncontrolled cell division is a hallmark of cancer, and BMH-21 has demonstrated an ability to bind to the DNA of cancer cells and completely shut down this transcription pathway. "Without this transcription machinery, cancer cells cannot function," says Marikki Laiho, M.D., Ph.D., … Continue reading →

New method could help scientists understand neural circuits and tumor biology. Capture ready: Rat neurons filled with an RNA-grabbing molecule (white) that can be activated with light. For the first time, researchers have been able to grab all the RNA from a single living cell while it is still in its natural microenvironmentthat is, tight and cozy with its neighboring cells. The new method provides a unique way to study cell function and could be developed into a new way to study the effects of drugs inside the body.The researchers who developed the tool used it to show that a neuron interacting with its neighbors expresses a very different set of genes than a neuron grown in culture (a common way of studying the brain cells). In fact, many more genes were turned on in individual neurons grown in culture than those growing in their natural setting. Single-cell analyses provide much more insight into the biology of healthy and diseased cells, says study author James Eberwine, a biochemist at the University of Pennsylvania. For instance, if studying Alzheimers disease, the new method could be used to study the individual cells that neighbor the amyloid plaques associated with the condition. You … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise PHILADELPHIA - Red blood cells are the bodys true shape shifters, perhaps the most malleable of all cell types, transforming among many other forms -- into compressed discs capable of going through capillaries with diameters smaller than the blood cell itself. While studying how blood clots contract John W. Weisel, Ph.D., professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues, discovered a new geometry that red blood cells assume, when compressed during clot formation. Although red blood cells were first visualized in the mid-17th century and studied extensively since then, this new study, published online ahead of print in the journal Blood, describes a previously unknown shape and potential new function for red blood cells. The Penn team found that red blood cells can be compressed into many-sided, closely-packed polyhedral structures instead of their free-flowing bi-concave, disc shape. Whats more, contrary to expectations, the aggregates of fibrin and platelets that make up highly contracted clots lie primarily on the clot exterior, with the red blood cells crowded within the clot interior, although the contents of clots are more homogeneous before contraction takes place. Contracted … Continue reading →

Tarceva Funded First Line for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer New Zealanders with a specific type of advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSLC) can now receive funded first line treatment with Tarceva, an anti-cancer medicine from Roche Products. From 1 January 2014, Tarceva will be funded for the treatment of patients with advanced EGFR mutation-positive (EGFR+) NSCLC who have not previously received any treatment for their disease.1Patients will only be eligible for funded Tarceva if their tissue samples test positive for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. In New Zealand, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women.2EGFR mutations occur in approximately 10 to 20 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer.3Tarceva works by preventing the activity of the EGFR protein which is known to be involved in the growth and spread of cancer cells. In clinical studies, Tarceva was shown to slow disease progression in previously untreated patients with advanced EGFR+ NSCLC, more than chemotherapy.4,5 Jan Campbell, Acting General Manager, Roche Products (New Zealand) Ltd says that the first line funding of Tarceva will provide clinicians with more options for treating EGFR+ advanced NSCLC. Tarceva Consumer Panel Tarceva(erlotinib), 150mg 100mg and 25mg tablets, … Continue reading →

Cofounder of Stem Cell Theranostics and StartX Med Divya Nag is attacking one of medicine's biggest problems: the fact that most types of human cellslike those in the heart or liverdie when you keep them in a petri dish. This makes testing new drugs a risky, costly and time-consuming business: 90% of medicines that start clinical trials turn out to be too unsafe or ineffective to market. But a new technology, the induced pluripotent stem cell, may help. Nag's company, Stem Cell Theranostics, was created from technology funded by a $20 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and is closing a venture round. It turns cellsusually from a piece of skininto embryonic-like stem cells, then uses them to create heart cells. These cells can live in petri dishes and be used to test new drugs. Someday they might even replace heart tissue that dies during a heart attack. Three large pharmaceutical companies are customers, though revenues are small. Nag, who was already publishing in prestigious scientific journals when she was an undergraduate, dropped out of Stanford to pursue her dream. No regrets: "Our technology was so promising and I was so passionate about it that nothing else … Continue reading →

January 3, 2014 Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online Early reports indicate that lay opinions regarding stem cell research with stem cells made from skin or other tissues, known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), are generally positive, despite several ethical concerns. Regardless of personal benefit, most patients indicated during focus group discussions that they would be will to participate in iPSC. When considering donating tissue, patients raised concern regarding consent, privacy and transparency. Jeremy Sugarman, senior author and the Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Bioethics and Medicine at the John Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, said, Bioethicists, as well as stem cell researchers and policy-makers, have discussed the ethical issues of induced pluripotent stem cells at length, but we didnt have any systematic information about what patients think about these issues, and that is a huge part of the equation if the potential of this research is to be fully realized. Somewhat taking the edge off of the controversy is the fact that iPSCs do not require the destruction of a human embryo. Using iPSCs in research is extremely valuable in the development of new drugs, disease study and may help develop medical treatments. Although still far off, … Continue reading →

LONDON: Scientists have developed a device that can take a "biopsy" of a living cell, sampling minute volumes of its contents without killing it. The new tool, called a nanobiopsy, uses a robotic glass nanopipette to pierce the cell membrane and extract a volume of around 50 femtolitres, around one per cent of the cell's contents. It will allow scientists to take samples repeatedly, to study the progression of disease at a molecular level in an individual cell. It can also be used to deliver material into cells, opening up ways to reprogramme diseased cells. "This is like doing surgery on individual cells," said Dr Paolo Actis, from the department of medicine at Imperial College, London, who developed the technology with colleagues at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "This technology will be extremely useful for research in many areas. You could use it to dynamically study how cancer cells are different from healthy cells, or look at how brain cells are affected by Alzheimer's disease. The possibilities are immense," Actis said. To get inside the cell, the nanopipette is plunged downwards about one micrometre to pierce the cell membrane. Applying a voltage across the tip makes fluid flow into … Continue reading →

A release from the University of California-Los Angleles written by Shaun Mason reports that researchers at UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have discovered a mechanism by which certain adult stem cells suppress their ability to initiate skin cancer during their dormant phase an understanding that could be exploited for better cancer-prevention strategies. The study, led by Andrew White and William Lowry, was published online Decemeber 15th 2013 in the journal Nature Cell Biology. The release notes that hfollicle stem cells, the tissue-specific adult stem cells that generate the hair follicles, are also the cells of origin for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a common skin cancer. These stem cells cycle between periods of activation during which they can grow and quiescence (when they remain dormant). White and Lowry applied known cancer-causing genes to hair follicle stem cells of laboratory mice and found that during the cells dormant phase, they could not initiate skin cancer. Once the cells were in their active period, however, they began growing cancer. The release quotes White as saying, "We found that this tumor suppression via adult stem cell quiescence was mediated by PTEN, a gene important in regulating … Continue reading →