prostate cancer

Prostate cancer vaccine proves effective in mice

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

A prostate cancer vaccine developed at the University of Southern California was able to prevent the disease in 90 percent of mice engineered to develop cancer. And the scientists say that the same approach offers real potential for men with rising levels of prostate specific antigens, or PSA, a biomarker for the disease. The two-course vaccine approach is designed to spark an immune response against prostate stem cell antigen, the protein target of some therapeutic vaccines now under development.

"By early vaccination, we have basically given these mice life-long protection against a disease they were destined to have," said the study's lead investigator, W. Martin Kast, Ph.D., a professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. "This has never been done before and, with further research, could represent a paradigm shift in the management of human prostate cancer."

- check out the release

Related Articles:
Big Pharma takes an interest in cancer vaccines. Report

Hollis-Eden spurs stock price with preclinical news

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

It's not often that you see a set of preclinical data influence a company's stock price, but Hollis-Eden was feeling a strong wind in its sails when it released its data on HE3235 for prostate cancer. Researchers for the company demonstrated that the therapy stopped the growth of hormone independent tumors in a preclinical model using human tumor cells. And they presented information suggesting that the treatment triggers cell death--a key mechanism in fighting cancer.

This was all welcome news for the company, which saw its stock price jump about 35 percent on the report. Hollis-Eden has been staging a comeback since the U.S. government cut it out of the loop for a BioShield contract. Investors seem ready to believe that the company can do it. Hollis-Eden was recently feature in our weekly column on emerging drug developers.

- see the data from Hollis-Eden
- here's the report from TheStreet

Related Articles:
Hollis-Eden skyrockets on preclinical cancer data. Report
Hollis-Eden to chop work force in restructuring. Report
Hollis-Eden shares plunge on HHS drug rejection. Report

ALSO NOTED: Wilmut signals new approach to research;Genetic project sheds light on treating hearing loss;

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Stem Cell Research

Famed scientist Ian Wilmut says that researchers should remove the nucleus of diseased human cells and inject it into an animal egg which has had the nucleus removed. Once every eight times, that process should deliver a fresh batch of embryonic stem cells that would offer a far more efficient way to test drugs than the current approach involving mice. Report

Scientists at the University of Tokyo have used embryonic stem cells to develop kidneys in mice lacking the organ--a step toward developing new organ parts for people. The gene needed to grow a kidney in mice was withdrawn and the embryonic stem cells were then injected into the mouse embryos. Report

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have cultured hematopoietic stem cells from fat tissue, offering a new source of cells for bone marrow repair for cancer patients. Report

Nature Magazine says that a controversial study on stem cells from the University of Minnesota was flawed but still valid. The study had concluded that adult stem cells can be as versatile as embryonic stem cells and has been under review for the past year. Report

Parents in Britain can now bank their children's milk teeth in order to preserve their stem cells for later use. Report

The Wall Street Journal profiled Dr. Donald Landry of Columbia University's department of medicine, whose ethical objections to embryonic stem cell research spurred his work on developing new stem cell lines without the destruction of embryos. Report (sub. req.)

Cancer Research

Scientists at Dana-Farber have determined that the IKBKE gene is mutated in 30-40 percent of all breast cancers. The mutation occurs during a woman's lifetime, causing the protein to be overproduced. Report

Carriers of a BRCA2 variation specific to Iceland are more likely to develop aggressive and lethal prostate cancer than noncarriers, according to a study published online June 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Release

Disorders of blood cells may begin in the biological environment where the cells develop, not just with the cells themselves. In the June 15 issue of Cell, the investigators describe finding that genetic alterations in the bone marrow of mice can cause a type of myeloproliferative syndrome, an overproduction of certain blood cells that also occurs in human patients. Release

Searching for less invasive screening tests for cancer, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered proteins present in blood that accurately identify colon cancer and precancerous polyps. Report

More Research

Belgian researchers say their discovery of a single gene that causes hearing loss in whites may well trigger research into new therapies to control otosclerosis, which afflicts one in every 250 people. Report

Scientists in the U.S. and Taiwan say they have developed critical new insights into the architecture of a key enzyme in the H5N1 avian influenza virus that enables the virus to spread. Report

Researchers in the U.S. say they have discovered a new signaling pathway in cells that could lead the way to new drugs for Parkinson's. Report

Remember the news about "junk" DNA? It turns out that it may play a key role in such things as our susceptibility to disease. "A lot of these regions that previously we were thinking were junk DNA, or vast deserts of non-functionality, have been found to be a lot more active," says Steven Jones, associate director of the British Columbia Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre. Report

Doctors at the University of Utah say that an anti-clotting drug can restore blood flow to frostbitten limbs. Report

An important finding, which could eventually lead to a new therapeutic approach for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, psoriasis and others, was announced today by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology. The studies, conducted in laboratory mice, demonstrated the role of retinoic acid, a substance derived when Vitamin A is broken down in the body, in regulating inflammation. Report

University of Utah researchers have developed a faster, less expensive technique for mutating those large, non-gene stretches of DNA. Genes account for only 2.5 percent of DNA in the human genetic blueprint, yet diseases can result not only from mutant genes, but from mutations of other DNA that controls genes. Report

And Finally... University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine professor and researcher Alan Solomon, M.D., director of the Human Immunology and Cancer/Alzheimer's Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program, led a team that discovered a link between foie gras prepared from goose or duck liver and the type of amyloid found in rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculosis. Release

ALSO NOTED: Research could increase capacity of adult stem cells; potential new class found for prostate cancer;

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Stem Cell Research

Working with mouse cells, researchers led by Boris Reizis of Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that the gene Zfx governed self-renewal in embryonic stem cells and in blood-generating hematopoietic adult stem cells. The discovery could have a profound influence on adult stem cell research, which has been restricted by their limited capacity for self-renewal and pluripotency. Report

A European research team has identified a mechanism of action to illustrate how stem cells can repair brain damage from a stroke. Report

German scientists have made human sperm from the stem cells extracted from bone marrow. They believe the process can be used to restore fertility to men made sterile by cancer treatments. Report

Professor Mohamed Al-Rubeai, currently a UCD Professor of Biochemical Engineering and principal investigator with the Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology and UCD Conway Institute has developed an economical tissue engineering approach which could offer new possibilities for restoring damaged or lost knee cartilage tissue. Release

Cancer Research

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have linked a mutated gene with a virus linked to prostate cancer, a discovery which they say could point the way to a new class of therapies for the disease along with earlier diagnosis. Report

A dendritic cell-based therapeutic vaccine for pancreatic cancer developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has successfully stalled the disease from progressing in a handful of patients three years post-vaccination. Report

The Chicago Tribune looks at the cancer research work being pursued by Abbott Laboratories. The company's work in the field is still at an early stage, but includes a number of programs aimed at developing next generation therapies. Among the treatments are a Bcl-2 family protein inhibitor that triggers cancer cell death and a kinase inhibitor. Report

Enzon's David Filpula and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute have modified an anti-cancer therapy in a way that significantly improves its efficacy while reducing side effects in an animal model. Their work centers on an immunotexen called SS1P that destroys cells. Report

Adding "natural killer" cells to anti-cancer therapies using monoclonal antibodies may be a more effective way of exterminating cancer cells, say researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia. Report

Researchers in Germany have hidden vaccine-grade measles virus inside artificially generated blood cells in order to devise a search-and-destroy therapy for human brain cancer that can't be "seen" by the immune system. They say their mouse experiments show a proof of principle that this non-pathogenic virus can attack glioma by getting inside tumor cells and replicating, destroying the common brain tumors from the inside out. Release

Medical scientists at the University of Leicester have announced a potentially unique advance in breast cancer research by identifying two genes associated with adverse reaction to cancer treatment. The research could mean people who might react badly to radiotherapy could be warned in advance or alternative treatments be sought. Release

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified an important gene involved in the spread of breast cancer that has developed resistance to long-term estrogen deprivation. The gene may prove to be a useful marker for predicting which patients have the greatest risk of breast cancer recurrence so their doctors can offer the most appropriate treatment plan. Release

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have identified gene expression signatures that could serve as biomarkers to predict how individuals will respond to the breast cancer drugs lapatinib and CI-1040. Report

More Research

Using new technology to examine more than a million blood proteins for potential anti-HIV activity, researchers at the University of Ulm say they have found one that could open the door to a new class of drugs. They also found that by adjusting amino acid components of the protein they were able to double its potency. The key molecule is called the virus-inhibitory peptide (VIRIP), which are plentiful. VIRIP works by targeting a sugar molecule which is used by HIV to infect a cell. Researchers also say that early preclinical work indicates that VIRP would work against drug-resistant versions of HIV. The lethal virus killed about three million people last year. Report

An early-stage trial of a dozen Parkinson's patients demonstrated significant efficacy for a gene transfer therapy that relies on a modified virus to deliver a growth factor to targeted brain cells. Release

Stanley M. Lemon and colleagues discovered a new protein involved in stopping the hepatitis C virus from replicating. Called p21-activated kinase 1, the protein is known to play a role in several cellular signaling pathways, but it has not been shown previously to be involved in regulating the replication of hepatitis C virus. Report

Brown University researcher Gregory Jay says that the protein lubricin plays a critical role in the synovial fluid critical for protecting joints from wear and tear. The researcher could play an important role in developing better therapies for arthritis. Report

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that an enzyme produced by lung-infecting bacteria shuts down a protein that is defective in cystic fibrosis patients. The disruption to this protein that conveys ions from lung cells to airways causes thick mucus to build up inside the lung. The finding suggests a new therapeutic target for treating lung infections in some cystic fibrosis patients. Report

In working to identify a key tumor antigen in melanoma and other cancers, scientists at the Wistar Institute have now developed a novel way to clone an antigen recognized by a helper T cell. The new antigen-cloning approach may allow scientists to design vaccines capable of directly stimulating helper T cells, aiding the development of vaccines not only for cancer but also for infectious diseases, says Dorothee Herlyn, D.V.M., senior author on the study. Release

A new French study has pinpointed blood levels of a biomarker called brain natriuretic peptide that play a significant role in a person's risk of developing heart failure. Release

The CEO of Hollis-Eden says that his company will never again work with the federal government following the rejection of his anti-radiation drug. Richard Hollis says that his company spent $85 million developing the drug before federal regulators rewrote the rules for Project BioShield. Report

ALSO NOTED: Hormone promotes prostate cancer; Genetic mutation heightens risk of arrythmia; Search for anti-cancer therapies in

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:01:38 -0500

Scientists at the Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center in Madison, WI have determined that the hormone androgen increases the amount of chemicals in the prostate gland which promotes the development of prostate cancer. And they have found a drug that blocks the pathway, increasing rates of survival and inhibiting tumor development. Report

A team of researchers have found a mutation in the Caveolin-3 gene that heightens the risk of cardiac arrhythmia. Release

A University of Utah led a team of researchers in a study of the potential cancer therapies to be found in small aquatic creatures. They studied the symbiotic bacteria present in marine life, some of which have anti-cancer properties. Release

MIT researchers Stephen J. Lippard and Mi Hee Lim are reporting on their study of nitric oxide's role in living cells. NO plays a variety of roles including male sexual function, regulating bone mass and blood pressure. Release

Scientists at Harvard University have developed a computer model that, for the first time, can fully map and predict how small proteins fold into three-dimensional, biologically active shapes. The work could help researchers better understand the abnormal protein aggregation underlying some devastating diseases, as well as how natural proteins evolved and how proteins recognize correct biochemical partners within living cells. Release

A group of researchers say that they're work investigating insulin-like growth factor 1 may well pave the way to finding new therapies for motor neuron disease and spinal cord injuries. Article

Using existing human genomes, scientists are reconstructing old viruses. The role of human endogenous retroviruses role in cancer can now be examined. Article

Scientists are exploring the idea that family clusters of bird flu may indicate that genetic triggers could be necessary for human-to-human transmission. Report

HIV-positive nonprogressors may prove an important piece of the puzzle in curing AIDS. Report

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered a previously unknown cause for a severe, early-onset form of kidney disease and renal failure in children: recessive mutations in a gene called phospholipase C epsilon or PLCE1. Genetic testing is advised. Release

Preliminary trials of an MEK enzyme inhibitor have shown that it is capable of producing long-lasting stable disease in patients with advanced solid cancers. Tests showed that the drug inhibited key targets in the patients' tumors, and now it is being tested in phase II clinical trials. Release

Cell biologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have provided further evidence that a gene thought to play a role in suppressing tumors actually can protect against the development of pre-cancerous cell growth as well. The researchers say that the gene, caveolin-1 (Cav-1), which they found in two major types of breast cells, could be a potential target for future drugs aimed at preventing breast cancer. Release

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Medical College say that they've found fresh evidence to suggest that a microscopic nanoparticle--a carbon-based fullerene known as DF-1--can protect tissue from radiation as well as standard therapy. Report

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have identified changes in brain chemistry that may be associated with the dementia that many cancer patients develop after whole-brain radiation treatment. Release

Writing for The Times, Nigel Hawkes considers the argument between fast-and-dirty efficacy studies for stem cell therapies versus a careful and deliberative approach to investigating the field. Comment

Researchers at the University of Southern California and the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montreal in Canada have been exploring the role that the Par-3 protein plays in myelin formation during nerve development. The theory is that Par-3 could be manipulated in a way that would foster the creation of myelin, a while film that coats nerves. Report

Duke University Medical Center scientists say that their study of zebrafish shows that they can re-grow damaged hearts, pointing in a direction that one day might allow tissue regeneration in humans. Report

Researchers at the University of Louisville have gathered promising data from a study of a new vaccine that can prevent lung cancer in mice. Release

A new brain study finds major differences between women with serious depression and healthy women in a brain-chemical system that's crucial to stress and emotions. The study adds further evidence that depression has its roots in specific alterations within the brain--specifically in the endogenous opioid system that is a central part of the brain's natural pain and stress-reduction system. Release

A protein with the ironic name "Srcasm" can counteract the effects of tumor-promoting molecules in skin cells, according to new research by investigators at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Using animal models, the researchers discovered that Srcasm acts like a brake in epithelial cells, preventing uncontrolled cell growth caused by a family of proteins called Src kinases. This finding, published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, suggests a target for future gene therapy to treat skin, head, neck, colon, and breast cancers. Release

A growth factor known to be important for the survival of many types of cells stimulates rapid extension of corticospinal motor neurons--critical brain cells that connect the cerebral cortex with the spinal cord and that die in motor neuron diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). Release

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have for the first time implicated the muscle protein myosin VI in the development of prostate cancer and its spread. Release

Deals & Dollars

The NIH has granted the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center $8.5 million to continue its work modeling cells. Creating computer models of cells that can mimic real ones is considered a major goal in biomedical science. Report

The American Federation for Aging Research has provided a $59,000 grant to Dr. Genevieve Neal-Perry to investigate the influence one region of the brain has on menopause. Report

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation has announced a $200,000 award to the Parkinson Study Group to fund new programs that facilitate the clinical research process so that treatments and therapies move at an accelerated rate. Release

Dr. Lee Ellis of the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has won a $250,000 grant for carcinoid research. Report

Tools & Technology

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have introduced a new series of research articles, "Spotlight on Molecular Profiling," in the latest issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. The series will highlight molecular profiling studies that provide broad-spectrum genomic and proteomic data that could prove useful for the discovery of new drugs and biomarkers. Release

The UK's fastest supercomputer--the HPCx machine--has been upgraded to make 15.4 trillion calculations per second. But the machine has been steadily slipping down the list of the fastest supercomputers in the world. Most recently it has been ranked 59th out of the top 500. Report

Bio-IT covers the consolidation of the electronic data capture market. Article

And Finally… Chemical scientists and engineers who have not changed jobs are earning more money these days, but high unemployment levels have only slightly moderated, according to a new report from Chemical & Engineering News. Salaries for the employed are up 5 percent while unemployment in the field has only dropped .5 percent to 8.7 percent. Release

ALSO NOTED: Genes identified in ovarian cancer; gene activity predicts metastasis; new transgenic mice developed for leukemia r

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:01:38 -0400

More Research

Researchers at McGill University Health Center in Montreal have come up with a new model to identify the specific ovarian cancer genes that are causing the disease. "This model not only allows us to identify the specific human chromosome 3 genes responsible for affecting tumor growth, but also has great potential to pinpoint genes in the entire human genome that would be most affected by this process," said Dr. Patricia Tonin, an associate professor of medicine and human genetics. Report

By studying the pattern of gene activity in immune cells, researchers have been able to accurately predict tumor metastasis in liver cancer. Report

Researchers have developed a new strain of transgenic mice that that develop a malignancy close to chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The mice are likely to play a lead role in new research into new therapies as well as molecular targets for CLL. Release

Researchers from the University of Nice in France have been working to determine the influence of TREK-1--a gene that can affect transmission of serotonin in the brain--on depression. By breeding mice with an absence of TREK-1, researchers were able create a depression-resistant strain. The details of this research are published in Nature Neuroscience this week. Report

Scientists say that they have found genetic variations that are linked to premature birth and prostate cancer among blacks. Report

Researchers at the University of Florida have demonstrated how cigarette smoke condensate--a surrogate for cigarette smoke--can cause DNA damage and can block the DNA repair of a cell or compromise the DNA repair capacity of a cell. Report

In a series of academic reports, William Kinlaw, an associate professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, outlines his case for making the S14 protein a drug target in breast cancer. Kinlaw believes that breast cancer tumors are addicted to S14, needing it for metastasis. Release

A team headed by biologists from the University of California, San Diego has discovered the cells and the protein that enable us to detect sour, one of the five basic tastes. The scientists, who included researchers from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, suggest that this protein is also the long-sought sensor of acidity in the cerebrospinal fluid. Release

A man's prostate specific antigen, or PSA, level after seven months of hormone therapy for advanced prostate cancer predicted how long he would survive, according to a new multicenter study conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group and led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Report

Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, an eminent researcher in cell biology, immunology, and virology, has confirmed the identification of a new therapeutic target (the PD-1 protein) that restores the function of the T cells whose role is to eliminate cells infected with the virus. The research opens new prospects for the development of therapeutic strategies for controlling HIV infection. The research findings appear in the journal Nature Medicine. Release

Researchers at the University of York have been working to understand how bacteria uses protein toxins to kill each other as a way to develop a new generation of tailor-made antibiotics that can attack specific microorganisms. Report

Primate experts writing in the American Journal of Primatology are suggesting new ways to limit the spread of viruses from primates to humans, saying that disease transmission presents serious threats to human health. Release

Tools and Technology

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany and Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich have intentionally released a substance in a tumor cell. The scientists placed the substance in a tiny capsule which gets channeled into cancer cells and is then "unpacked" with a laser impulse. The laser light cracks its polymer shell by heating it up and the capsule's contents are released. Report

The Forsyth Institute has created a new computerized system for monitoring, analyzing and controlling cognitive science experiments. Researchers will have the ability to automate the analysis of animal behavior, while also conducting functional experiments on a large number of subjects simultaneously. The Forsyth Automated Training Apparatus (ATA), also provides a methodology to conduct drug screening and potentially shorten the development time for new drugs. Release

Deals and Dollars

Breast cancer has become a marketable commodity that corporate sponsors trade in without any real regard for finding a cure, according to a researcher at Queen's University. And much of the money raised by corporate groups for breast cancer never finds its way into the hands of research groups. Report

National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced grants totaling $54 million over five years to establish one new Center of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) and continue support for two existing centers. NHGRI will renew the awards for the Microscale Life Sciences Center at the University of Washington, Seattle and the Yale Center of Excellence in Genomic Science, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Each center will receive $18 million over the next five years. In addition, NHGRI awarded $18 million over five years to create a new CEGS at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., which will be called the Center for In Toto Genomic Analysis of Vertebrate Development. Release

Community hospitals find new niche in bioresearch

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 20:01:39 -0400

More community hospitals have decided to launch their own research projects, competing for grant money and publishing their results in peer-reviewed publications. Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, for example, has a $56 million budget to research such topics as the use of gene therapy for prostate cancer. Baylor Health Care System in Houston has increased its research budget to $50 million over just the last six years. For the hospitals, it's a chance to burnish their reputation while gaining fresh revenue as their Medicare reimbursements fall. And much of the work is being done for drug companies who are testing therapies. Altogether, 120 healthcare systems are doing research work independently.

- here's the Baltimore Sun article on bioresearch

ALSO NOTED: Brain cells used to replicate tissue; New research on metastasis; B cells could promote HIV

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Scientists at UF McKnight Brain Institute were able to take human brain cells from a mature epilepsy patient to create new brain tissue in mice. "We can theoretically take a single brain cell out of a human being and--with just this one cell--generate enough brain cells to replace every cell of the donor's brain and conceivably those of 50 million other people," said Dennis Steindler, Ph.D., executive director of the institute. "This is a completely new source of human brain cells that can potentially be used to fight Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, stroke and a host of other brain disorders. It would probably only take months to get enough material for a human transplant operation. Article

The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the new research work being done in metastasis and the new therapies that may help stop the spread of cancer. Dozens of genetic alterations are needed for metastasis, making it one of the most complex fields of medical research. And each form of metastasis, whether it's the way breast cancer spreads to the lungs or prostate cancer to the bones, is unique. Article

University of Pittsburgh researchers believe that B cells could play a key role in the way that HIV develops and spreads inside the body. It's already known that the virus enters cells through molecular receptors. But the B-cells make a protein--DC-SIGN--that is necessary before the cells can be infected. Report

The Boston Globe examines new research work being done to develop gene therapy for osteoarthritis. Report

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have been studying the alligator's legendary immune system to see how it can ward off a range of viruses, bacteria and microbes, including the lethal HIV virus. Article

William Neaves, the president of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, says that some advocates of adult stem cell therapy are overstating the potential rewards from the field. Writing for Science magazine, Neaves states that the assertions by the Family Research Council claiming that 65 illnesses can be treated with adult and cord blood stem cells are overblown. Neaves is supporting efforts to preserve Missouri's constitutional protection of embryonic stem cell research. Article

Children with OCD are three times more likely to be bullied than other kids, which may play a role in worsening their symptoms. Report

By inserting a type of siRNA that targets focal adhesion kinase-proteins that play a role in promoting cancer cells--into liposomes and slipping them past tumor cell membranes, researchers at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center were able to shut the proteins down in mouse models. Report

Scientists at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the UK's Cardiff University School of Medicine say that a gene involved in brain development may also play a role in schizophrenia. DNA analysis of schizophrenia patients indicate that variations in OLIG2, which is active in myelin development, indicate a connection to the illness. Report

Researchers have used the drug valproic acid to increase the protein neuropeptide Y in the brain by about 50 percent, offering a possible new therapy for epilepsy. Report

African-American patients with hepatitis C (HCV) infections experience a lower response rate to the peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin combination treatment than Caucasian Americans, according to a study published in the August issue of Gastroenterology. Release

By discovering that particular rat brain neurons combine or "integrate" dissimilar pieces of information (e.g. location versus reward), researchers have begun to learn how the brain controls decision-making and goal-oriented behaviors. Release

Researchers at Penn State have concluded that the habit animals have of periodically waking up during hibernation could be linked to the need to periodically jump-start their immune systems, offering some clues into regulating human health. Report

Tools and Technology

Xiaowei Zhuang and a team of scientists at Harvard University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have developed new microscopy technology that can focus on objects as small as 20 nanometers, putting them close to peering directly at living biomolecules and cells. Report

Through late June and early July, researchers from Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore tested the Rapidly Deployable Chemical Detection System (RDCDS) during a series of games. RDCDS can detect a variety of chemical warfare agents as well as the more common toxic industrial chemicals. The RDCDS platform will also readily accept other types of detectors, such as those that sense radiological material. Release

A microscopy technique pioneered with the help of Florida State University's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory has led to the development of a new light microscope capable of looking at proteins on a molecular level. Release

Deals and dollars

MorphoSys has inked a second deal to use Crucell's PER.C6 cell line for producing clinical grade material. Report

Citing a new report that puts the cost of ischemic stroke in the U.S. at $2.2 trillion by 2050, the American Academy of Neurology is asking Congress to bump up research funds for the National Institutes of Health. Report

Northwestern University has received a four-year, $4.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and produce affordable diagnostic devices for infectious diseases. Release

The new appointee to run the NCI says that a shrinking budget is likely to force him to phase out some of its programs. Article

And Finally… A film crew on the set of "Casino Royale" refused to get on board a stunt plane, saying it's occupied by the ghost of a passenger who died on board from a heart attack. Report

Researchers find a possible tumor suppressant

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 20:01:39 -0400

Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Andersen Cancer Center say they have discovered a single gene--BRT1--that may play a role as a tumor suppressor. BRT1 is under expressed in ovarian, breast and prostate cancer cell lines, say the researchers, whose work is published in Cancer Cell. Defects in the gene inhibit DNA damage response and create genomic instability that fosters the spread of cancer. The researchers conducted lab experiments that showed BRT1 plays a role in DNA repair and preventing the division of a damaged cell to prevent replication. Using small interfering RNA to silence the genes in human mammary epithelial cells caused chromosomal aberrations in 21.2 percent to 25.6 percent of cells.

The researchers conclude: "BRIT1 defection seems to be a key pathological alteration in cancer initiation and progression, and as such, further understanding of its function may well contribute to novel, effective therapeutic approaches for cancer."

- see the report on BRIT1 from Medical News Today
- here's a link to the full study