Pancreatic cancer is not just one disease, but that’s the way it is currently treated. New work from Tannishtha Reya’s lab could help pave the way for a change. Though most pancreatic cancers are classified as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) several other subtypes exist. “Everyone gets the same chemotherapy, even though some subtypes are dramatically less responsive to the treatment and even more lethal,” says Tannishtha Reya, Ph.D., the Herbert and Florence Irving Professor of Basic Cancer Science (in Physiology & Cellular Biophysics) at Columbia…
Photosynthesis is one of the most important metabolic processes in nature: It is critical for plant growth and thus for the production of plant-based foods. In close cooperation with the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI-MP), a German-American research team headed by Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has now investigated whether a specific metabolic pathway in photosynthesis that competes with carbon fixation has a protective function for plants. The results are also relevant for crop plant breeding, as…
A mammalian embryo cannot develop on its own. It has to implant in the uterus, where it is supplied with everything it needs to survive. Until this happens, the egg cell nourishes the early embryo. Among other things, it provides essential proteins. Researchers led by Melina Schuh at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences, together with colleagues in Göttingen, have now elucidated how egg cells store proteins. Their experiments also provide important insights into how errors in protein…
MYC proteins play an important role in many types of cancer. A research team at the University of Würzburg has now succeeded in indirectly influencing these proteins – with clear consequences for the tumor. MYC family genes are essential for the human organism. According to current knowledge, they regulate the expression of most cellular genes. Misregulation of MYC proteins significantly contributes to the development of many types of cancer. Unsurprisingly, MYC proteins are in the focus of cancer research worldwide….
…to treat autoimmunity or fight cancer. Salk researchers pinpoint Foxp3 as the protein that determines regulatory T cell genome structure and fate in mice. Regulatory T cells are specialized immune cells that suppress the immune response and prevent the body from attacking its own cells. Understanding how these cells work is key to determining how they might be manipulated to encourage the destruction of cancer cells or prevent autoimmunity. Cell behavior is influenced by chromatin architecture (the 3D shape of…
A new mathematical model predicts that mammalian sperm cells have two distinct swimming modes. This prediction opens new questions about potential connections between sperm cells’ motor activity and their transitions to hyperactivation phases that may play an important role in fertilization. The finding is part of a larger effort to use math and fluid dynamics to describe how mammalian sperm move. The research is led by a team of engineers at the University of California San Diego. The new work…
Chemists develop new sensor for microvolume pH detection. Researchers develop new environmentally friendly, durable pH sensor that is sensitive enough to accurately measure pH variation in just a few microliters of samples. Measuring the pH of substances gives us vital clues about the world around us, such as identifying contaminated water or checking the toxicity of medical or cosmetic products. Often, only small amounts of samples are available, but monitoring the variation in pH in these miniscule volumes matters. For…
… during the immune response with promising implications for vaccine design. The finding has major implications for the generation of a strong CD8 T lymphocyte response, a crucial factor in the effectiveness of vaccines against infection. A team of scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) and Hospital de la Princesa-UAM in Madrid have discovered that dendritic cells, an important cell type in the immune response to viral and bacterial infections, are profoundly changed by their involvement in…
Cancer is caused by mutations, but not all mutations have the same effects. While some mutations are barely noticeable, others are quite crucial for the growth of cancer cells. One example is BAP1. BAP1 is an important tumor suppressor that is frequently mutated in very aggressive cancers such as uveal melanoma, kidney cancer, bile duct cancer, and malignant mesothelium. To date, there are no treatments specifically targeting these BAP1-mutated cancers. In a joint project with colleagues from the German Cancer…
Textbook knowledge turned on its head… Study on environmentally relevant microorganisms shows greater diversity than previously assumed. A team of researchers from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ- German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH and Technische Universität Braunschweig, in collaboration with the University of Vienna and the University of Wisconsin, USA, has now been able to show that there is an incredibly high biodiversity of environmentally relevant microorganisms in nature. This diversity is at least 4.5 times greater than previously…
… for the production and processing of hydrogen for the energy trans. Hydrogen technology plays a crucial role in the energy transition and offers climate-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. For the successful ramp-up of the hydrogen economy, highly productive technologies are needed for the cost-effective production of the required assemblies for generation and use. The in-line vacuum coating plant for sheets and metal strips for plasma-activated electron beam evaporation was qualified at Fraunhofer FEP for the highly productive and efficient…
A surprising mechanism that makes some cancers treatment-resistant has been discovered by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. The mechanism, which involves the shuttling of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, ultimately facilitates DNA repair in cancer cells. These cancer cells can thereby thwart treatments aimed at damaging their DNA. In a project encompassing both fundamental research and clinical studies they demonstrated that a combination of approved chemotherapies, one of which targets the DNA repair-facilitating mechanism, could…
Mount Sinai researchers have shed valuable light on the mechanism of a key protein that regulates the plasticity and function of the hippocampus, a key brain region involved in memory and learning, and that decreases with age in mice. The team’s findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, could pave the way for a better understanding of how the protein, known as tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP2), could potentially be targeted in age-related disorders like Alzheimer’s disease to help restore affected…
Scientists shoot first true-to-life 3D image of the thick filament of mammalian heart muscle. The human heart, often described as the body’s engine, is a remarkable organ that tirelessly beats to keep us alive. At the core of this vital organ, intricate processes occur when it contracts, where thick and thin protein-filaments interact within the sarcomere, the fundamental building block of both skeletal and heart muscle cells. Any alterations in thick filament proteins can have severe consequences for our health,…
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Due to numerous resistance mechanisms, infections with the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are particularly feared. Researchers at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the University Hospital Cologne, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf have now discovered antibodies that could lead to a highly potent treatment option of acute and chronic infections with P. aeruginosa. The study was published in the prestigious scientific…
In the immune system’s fight against cancer and infections, the T cells often lose their power. The team of Würzburg immunologist Martin Vaeth has found a possible explanation for this phenomenon. In the immune system, chronic infections and the defence against tumors often lead to the phenomenon of T cell exhaustion: In this process, the T lymphocytes gradually lose their function, which impairs their responses against cancer and infections. The molecular mechanisms that control this loss of function have not…
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