Scientists from the Vetmeduni Vienna found that one of the most important transposable elements, the P-element, has only recently invaded the fly Drosophila…
After more than 20 years of research, scientists of the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint cooperation between the Max Delbrück Center…
A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change shows that, when looking at the production site alone, growing biofuel crops can have a significant…
Current health systems need to safeguard past gains in health while responding to new threats and opportunities which call for a strengthened European public…
In «Nature Nanotechnology», the researchers describe a novel experimental setup with which the tiny magnetic fields of the nuclear spins of single biomolecules…
Increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations have already caused large-scale physiological responses of European forests. In particular, the efficiency of…
Research and development of novel detector technologies to identify and measure elementary particles is the topic of a new Research Training Group (RTG) that…
Hepatic failure is a terminal picture of many liver diseases such as hepatic steatosis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and is treated by liver transplantation, but a lack of donor organs is a worldwide problem. Thus, there is a demand for a means for safe and rapid liver regeneration for small grafts. One possibility would be the generation of a patient’s own liver tissue using isolated stem cells. The inventors found that mesenchymal stem cells can reprogrammed into hepatocytes by treatment with bile acids. Already after 7 days of treatment in serum-free medium, the resulting cell population showed markers characteristic for hepatic differentiation like albumin expression. Bile acids exert their function via the farnesoid X receptor and the G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 (TGR5). Cells obtained by the protocol may be used in a tissue replacement therapy.
This invention enables an easy and economical way for the stratification of patients (e.g. for treatment with tyrosine-kinase-inhibitors) with a state-of-the-art sensitivity, which might be even be more sensitive than mutation detection by next-generation-sequencing technologies. In addition this detection technology is based on the established and worldwide accessible RT-PCR-platform. It can even be used – in combination with suitable enrichment strategies – for the non-invasive analysis of CTCs or free DNA from plasma/serum samples to facilitate continuous monitoring of treatment response.
Currently, the inventors are establishing strategies for detecting a panel of the most common oncogenic mutations with similar impressive sensitivities.
The present invention provides a novel susceptibility gene for hereditary cancers. RAD51C, which encodes for a protein involved in DNA repair, has been found to be mutated in families with breast and ovarian cancer, but not in healthy control subjects. In addition, the patients were all selected from pedigrees negative for mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 to particularly identify genetic mutations causing a cancer predisposition independently of already known determinants. All analyzed mutations were identified as mono-allelic germline mutations. Besides gynecological cancers, mutations of RAD51C were also detected in patients suffering from head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSSC). Thus, the presence of mutations in RAD51C is associated with an increased predisposition of developing cancer and positions RAD51C as a high-risk cancer susceptibility gene. Furthermore, an abnormal RAD51C gene status correlates with an increased probability for response to a DNA-damaging therapeutic agent and therefore represents an ideal companion diagnostic.
The formation and onset of the prevalent form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML, FAB subtype M2) requires RUNX1/ETO, the product of the t(8;21) chromosomal translocation. Tetramerization through the nervy homology region 2 (NHR2) of ETO is essential for the RUNX1/ETO-mediated transformation. The inventors demonstrated that inhibition of NHR2 tetramerization by first-in-class small molecules is a viable entry point for the treatment of AML. Drug candidates have been identified by a small-molecule in silico screening and have been validated in cellular assays. Several compounds proved to be successful in
inhibiting NHR2 tetramerization. Preferred compound 7.44 was able to slow tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model (SKNO 1 xenograft). The pending patent application covers claims directed to a variety of chemotypes that proved activity against AML.
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), both parabolic trough and solar tower technologies, is a clean and sustainable technology that permits electricity to be…
The study, published in Hearing Research, found that locating an object by listening to echoes, without moving the head, requires good hearing at high…
Wouldn‘t it be exciting to sit in the midst of a film without wearing annoying 3D glasses? Not only for television fans, holographic displays would be a giant…
Therapies that specifically target mutations in a person's cancer have been much-heralded in recent years, yet cancer cells often find a way around them. To…
A potential mechanism to combat diseases caused by haemorrhagic fever viruses has been discovered by researchers at the University of Montreal's Department of…
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