When a new drug is being developed, the first question is, “Does it work?” The second question is, “Does it do harm?” No matter how effective a therapy is, if it harms the patient in the process, it has little value. Doctoral student Robert Skolik and Associate Professor Michael Menze, Ph.D., in the Department of […]
A hydrogel developed at Hokkaido University successfully reverted cancer cells back to cancer stem cells within 24 hours in six different human cancer types. This could lead to the development of anti-cancer stem cell drugs and personalized medicines. Cancer is the leading cause of death in developed countries, and more than 8.6 million people die […]
Scientists at The Wistar Institute identified a new function of ADAR1, a protein responsible for RNA editing, discovering that the ADAR1p110 isoform regulates genome stability at chromosome ends and is required for continued proliferation of cancer cells. These findings, reported in Nature Communications, reveal an additional oncogenic function of ADAR1 and reaffirm its potential as […]
Results from a study led by Joan Seoane, Director of Preclinical and Translational Research co-program at VHIO and ICREA Professor, show that immune cells accessing cerebrospinal fluid faithfully recapitulate the characteristics of cells identified in brain metastasis, and could therefore constitute novel biomarkers of response to immune-based therapies. Immune checkpoint inhibitors including anti-PD1, anti-PD-L1, and […]
In 1993, scientists discovered that a single mutated gene, HTT, caused Huntington’s disease, raising high hopes for a quick cure. Yet today, there’s still no approved treatment. One difficulty has been a limited understanding of how the mutant huntingtin protein sets off brain cell death, says neuroscientist Srinivasa Subramaniam, Ph.D., of Scripps Research, Florida. In […]
Intravenous injection of bone marrow derived stem cells (MSCs) in patients with spinal cord injuries led to significant improvement in motor functions, researchers from Yale University and Japan report Feb. 18 in the Journal of Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. For more than half of the patients, substantial improvements in key functions—such as ability to walk, […]
Leukemia is caused by leukemic stem cells which are resistant to most known therapies. Relapses are also due to this resistance. Leukemic stem cells arise from normal blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells. Because they are closely related, leukemic and hematopoietic stem cells share many of the same signaling pathways. If the proliferation of leukemic stem cells […]
Origin of cell lines – a woman named Henrietta Lacks Image Credit: Koliadzynska Iryna/Shutterstock.com Today, cell lines derived from animals including humans are grown and used for research in laboratories around the world. These cells can continuously divide given the right growth conditions. The first of these cell lines to be established is known as […]
How does the “body” take shape? The body of animals is highly complex, containing distinct regions that carry out specific functions. As the body forms during embryogenesis, three germ layers are created; these are the endoderm (precursor of the epidermis and neural tissue), mesoderm (precursor of muscles, skeleton, cardiovascular and urogenital tissues) and the ectoderm […]
A tumor is an abnormal growth of cells within the body, usually facilitated by a lack of apoptosis (natural cell death), therefore allowing for uncontrolled growth of unwanted or damaged cells. Tumors can be benign (non-cancerous, usually harmless) or malignant (cancerous, harmful, and can spread further). Image Credit: Nathan Davey/Shutterstock.com What does tumorigenesis mean? The […]
