Pancreatic Cell News 8.32 August 15, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYTo identify new metabolic regulators of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumor growth and metastasis, researchers systematically knocked down metabolic genes that were overexpressed in human PDAC tumor samples using short hairpin RNAs. They found that p53 transcriptionally represses paraoxonase 2, which regulates GLUT1-mediated glucose transport via stomatin. [Mol Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)DIABETES & PANCREATITISMitigating Ischemic Injury of Stem Cell-Derived Insulin-Producing Cells after Transplant Scientists showed that more than half of stem cell-derived insulin-producing cells (SCIPCs) die shortly after transplantation. Nutrient deprivation and hypoxia acted synergistically to kill SCIPCs in vitro. Amino acid supplementation rescued SCIPCs from nutrient deprivation, likely by providing cellular energy. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Glucose Potentiates β-Cell Function by Inducing Tph1 Expression in Rat Islets Global gene expression patterns revealed that tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (Tph1) was the most profound of genes that are up-regulated in rat islets exposed to high glucose. Calcium and cAMP signals synergistically mediated glucose-stimulated Tph1 transcription in β-cells by activating cAMP-responsive element–binding protein and promoting its binding with a Tph1 promoter. [FASEB J] Abstract Researchers employed human islets isolated from donors with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D) and evaluated how they responded to linagliptin treatment. Their data showed that linagliptin significantly improved glucose-stimulated insulin secretion for both non-diabetic and diabetic human islets, but its effectiveness on T2D islets was lower than on normal islets. [Sci Rep] Full Article Investigators tested the hypothesis that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate β-cell proliferation in response to prolactin in the context of β-cell mass compensation in pregnancy. They found that a group of lncRNAs was differentially regulated in mouse islets at 14.5 days of pregnancy. [PLoS One] Full Article Researchers tested whether pancreatic fatty infiltration has a negative effect on metabolic outcomes following total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation. Patients with high pancreatic fat were more likely to be insulin dependent, with higher post-prandial glucose excursion. [J Diabetes] Abstract Scientists generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients with fulminant type 1 diabetes and evaluated the cytokine-induced apoptotic reactions of beta-like insulin-producing cells differentiated from the iPSCs. [J Diabetes Investig] Abstract PANCREATIC CANCERInvestigators evaluated the effect of Minnelide on hypoxia mediated oncogenic signaling as well as stemness in pancreatic cancer. Their results showed that upon treatment with triptolide, HIF-1α protein accumulated in pancreatic cancer cells even though hypoxic response was decreased in them. [Sci Rep] Full Article Scientists isolated the pancreatic sphere-forming cells from pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1 by sphere-forming method and found that the sphere-forming ability and cell migration rate of pancreatic sphere-forming cells were significantly inhibited by 5,7-DMF treatment, which was supported by the corresponding changes of several EMT biomarkers after being treated with 5,7-DMF. [J Cell Biochem] Abstract | |
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REVIEWSResearchers discuss the current understanding of mechanisms through which non-conventional epitopes may be generated, focusing on several recently described pathways that can transpose germline-encoded sequences. They contextualize these discoveries around type 1 diabetes, the prototypic organ-specific autoimmune disease in which specific HLA-DQ molecules confer high risk. [J Autoimmun] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the pancreatic cell research field. | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSMetacrine, Inc. announced it has entered a collaboration with Novo Nordisk A/S to develop fibroblast growth factor 1 variants for glucose lowering and insulin sensitization. [Metacrine, Inc.] Press Release CARsgen Launches First-in-Class Anti-Claudin18.2 CAR-T Clinical Trial CARsgen Therapeutics announced its first-in-class anti-Claudin18.2-CAR-T cell therapy for gastric and pancreatic cancers has entered into Phase I clinical trial and starts patients recruitment at Changhai Hospital of Shanghai. [CARsgen Therapeutics (PR Newswire Association LLC.)] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSNew FDA Security Rules Will Bar Agency from Hiring Some Foreign Nationals The FDA is moving to adopt a new policy on security background checks that is sowing confusion and alarm among some of its scientists. The change, described in a “communications plan” shared with the agency’s senior staff, appears to effectively bar the agency from hiring—as employees or contractors—foreign nationals who have not lived in the United States for a total of three out of the last five years. [ScienceInsider] Editorial Researchers Rally around Science Advocate Convicted in Egypt Scientists, engineers, and others are hoping an Egyptian court will reconsider a prison sentence given to one of the nation’s most prominent science advocates. An Egyptian judge sentenced Ismail Serageldin, founding director of Egypt’s Library of Alexandria, to 3.5 years in prison for financial misdemeanors. [Science Insider] Editorial Budget Cuts Fuel Frustration among Japan’s Academics Japan’s premier scientific research institution, RIKEN, turned 100 this year, and celebrated with a grand ceremony attended by the empress and emperor. But not everybody was in the mood to party. In the old days, RIKEN was known as a paradise for scientists because of its generous funding. No longer: as Japan cuts off funds in the face of continuing financial uncertainty, the cracks are starting to show. [Nature News] Editorial Americans Are Becoming More Open to Human Genome Editing, Survey Finds, but Concerns Remain Earlier surveys of Americans found a reluctance to support human genome editing, with many respondents expressing ethical and other concerns about such intentional tinkering. A new survey found that two-thirds of the 1600 respondents thought genome editing was generally “acceptable.” But that acceptance was qualified, and colored by religious beliefs and scientific knowledge. [ScienceInsider] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW EACR-MRS: Seed and Soil: In Vivo Models of Metastasis Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Pancreatic Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) NEW Scientist – Diabetes and Obesity (Helmholtz Zentrum München) Assistant Investigator – Cancer Genetics, Epigenetics and Biomarkers (Baylor Research Institute) Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Genetics, Epigenetics and Biomarkers (Baylor Research Institute) Research Assistant – Cancer Genetics, Epigenetics and Biomarkers (Baylor Research Institute) Postdoctoral Scholar – Pancreatic and Lung Cancer Research (University of California, San Francisco) Postdoctoral Position – Immunology (Harvard Medical School) Faculty Positions – Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism (University of Pittsburgh) Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Mechanisms of Obesity and Diabetes (NYU Langone Medical Center) Postdoctoral Researcher – Obesity and Diabetes (University of Iowa) Assistant Professor – Metabolic Disorders (Umeå University) Group Leader – Cancer Research (University of Lille) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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