SCIENCE NEWSTeam Views Genome as It Turns On and Off Inside Cells Researchers have developed a new approach to decoding the vast information embedded in an organism’s genome, while shedding light on exactly how cells interpret their genetic material to create RNA messages and launch new processes in the cell. [Press release from the University of California, San Francisco discussing online prepublication in Nature]Cancer Scientists Discover Genetic Diversity in Leukemic Propagating Cells Cancer scientists have found that defective genes and the individual leukemia cells that carry them are organized in a more complex way than previously thought. [Press release from the University Health Network discussing online prepublication in Nature] Research Shows When Stem Cell Descendants Lose Their Versatility New research defines the point at which hair follicle stem cells abandon their trademark versatility, or “stemness,” having left their niche to make new hairs. It also shows how these fated stem cell descendants then regulate the activity of their forebears. [Press release from Rockefeller University discussing online prepublication in Cell] Landmark Study Demonstrates That ‘Complexes Matter’ in How Epigenetic Inhibitors Interact with Their Drug Target Results of the first ever chemoproteomic study of inhibition of HDAC (Histone Deacetylase) complexes open up the potential for a new way of studying potency and selectivity for inhibitors of epigenetic drug targets, such as HDACs. In the study, scientists demonstrated for the first time that complexes really matter to how small molecule inhibitors ‘see’ their target. [Press release from Cellzome discussing online prepublication in Nature Biotechnology] Molecular Battle in Cancer Cells Offers Clues for Treatment Researchers investigating a genetic mutation in brain cancer and leukemia patients have discovered how one cancer metabolite battles another normal metabolite to contribute cancer development. Helping the “good guys” win that battle could yield new approaches for treatment. [Press release from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine discussing online prepublication in Cancer Cell] Mother’s Stem Cells Likely Key to Treating Genetic Disease Before Birth Through a series of mouse model experiments, a research team determined that a mother’s immune response prevents a fetus from accepting transplanted blood stem cells, and yet this response can be overcome simply by transplanting cells harvested from the mother herself. [Press release from the University of California, San Francisco discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Clinical Investigation] Investigational Compound Offers Novel Anti-IGF Approach to Inhibit Growth of Cancer Cells MedImmune’s Oncology group announced preclinical results showing that MEDI-573, a targeted monoclonal antibody, broadly suppresses pathways that have been shown to play a critical role in the development and progression of many solid tumors. [Press release from MedImmune, LLC discussing online prepublication in Cancer Research] Researchers Find Indirect Path to Attack Breast Cancer Stem Cells Scientists have identified a potential new way of attacking breast cancer stem cells. They found that breast cancer stem cells are regulated by mesenchymal stem cells. [Press release from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center discussing online prepublication in Cancer Research] Researchers from Case Western Reserve and Athersys Publish Landmark Study Showing Regenerative Benefit of MultiStem Therapy After Spinal Cord Injury Researchers observed that administration of Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells following spinal cord injury in rodent models prevented the retraction of neurons, a process referred to as “axonal dieback,” reduced inflammation in the region of injury, and also promoted the regrowth of neurons. [Press release from Athersys, Inc. discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Neuroscience] Blocking Rogue Gene Could Stop the Spread of Most Cancers Scientists have discovered a rogue gene which — if blocked by the right drugs — could stop cancer in its tracks. It is hoped the research will lead to new drugs that halt the critical late stage of the disease when cancer cells spread to other parts of the body. [Press release from the University of East Anglia discussing online prepublication in Oncogene] Go Figure: Math Model May Help Researchers with Stem Cell, Cancer Therapies The difficult task of sorting and counting prized stem cells and their cancer-causing cousins has long frustrated scientists looking for new ways to help people who have progressive diseases. But in a development likely to delight math teachers, researchers have devised a series of mathematical steps that accomplishes what the most powerful microscopes, high-throughput screening systems and protein assays have failed to do — assess how rapidly stem cells and their malignant, stemlike alter egos increase their numbers. [Press release from the University of Florida discussing online prepublication in PLoS One] Team Creates 'Engineered Organ' Model for Breast Cancer Research Researchers have reproduced portions of the female breast in a tiny slide-sized model dubbed “breast on-a-chip” that will be used to test nanomedical approaches for the detection and treatment of breast cancer. [Press release from Purdue University discussing online prepublication in Integrative Biology] Putting Up a Struggle Against Cancer Scientists have discovered that cells lining the blood vessels secrete molecules that suppress tumor growth and keep cancer cells from invading other tissues, a finding that could lead to a new way to treat cancer. Researchers say that implanting such cells adjacent to a patient’s tumor could shrink a tumor or prevent it from growing back or spreading further after surgery or chemotherapy. [Press release from Massachusetts Institute of Technology discussing online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine] Researchers Develop New Method of Targeting AIDS Virus Scientists have developed a new method of targeting the AIDS virus that may provide a powerful one-two punch against HIV infection. The research team developed a small piece of genetic material — called an RNA aptamer — that both interferes with HIV’s ability to infect cells and acts as a delivery vehicle for another anti-HIV molecule. [Press release from City of Hope discussing online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine] Pervasis to Present Interim Data from Phase I/II Clinical Study of Novel Cell Therapy Targeting Peripheral Artery Disease at International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases Pervasis Therapeutics, Inc. presented interim data from the company’s Phase I/II clinical study of PVS-10200, an investigational cell-based therapy under development to prevent restenosis in patients with peripheral arterial disease who undergo an angioplasty and stent procedure in the superficial femoral artery. [Press release from Pervasis Therapeutics, Inc. discussing research presented at the 6th International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease] Adipose-Derived Regenerative Cell (ADRC) Therapy Associated with Reduction in Arrhythmia in Acute Heart Attack Patients Cytori Therapeutics announced the presentation of data demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in ventricular tachyarrhythmias following adipose-derived regenerative cell therapy in patients with acute heart attack. [Press release from Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. discussing research presented at the 6th International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease] CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)
Nascent Transcript Sequencing Visualizes Transcription at Nucleotide Resolution Researchers present an approach (native elongating transcript sequencing, NET-seq), based on deep sequencing of 3’ ends of nascent transcripts associated with RNA polymerase, to monitor transcription at nucleotide resolution. [Nature] Evolution of Human BCR-ABL1 Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Initiating Cells Using xenografting and DNA copy number alteration profiling of human BCR-ABL1 lymphoblastic leukemia, researchers demonstrate that genetic diversity occurs in functionally defined leukemia-initiating cells and that many diagnostic patient samples contain multiple genetically distinct leukemia-initiating cell subclones. [Nature] Dynamics Between Stem Cells, Niche, and Progeny in the Hair Follicle Researchers exploited the hair follicle to define the point at which stem cells become irreversibly committed along a differentiation lineage. [Cell] Chemoproteomics Profiling of HDAC Inhibitors Reveals Selective Targeting of HDAC Complexes A combination of affinity capture and quantitative mass spectrometry revealed the selectivity with which 16 histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors target multiple HDAC complexes scaffolded by ELM-SANT domain subunits, including a novel mitotic deacetylase complex. [Nat Biotechnol] The MicroRNA miR-34a Inhibits Prostate Cancer Stem Cells and Metastasis by Directly Repressing CD44 The study shows that miR-34a is a key negative regulator of CD44+ prostate cancer cells and establishes a strong rationale for developing miR-34a as a novel therapeutic agent against prostate cancer stem cells. [Nat Med] Oncometabolite 2-Hydroxyglutarate Is a Competitive Inhibitor of Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenases Researchers demonstrate that 2-hydroxyglutarate is a competitive inhibitor of multiple alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases, including histone demethylases and the TET family of 5-methlycytosine (5mC) hydroxylases. [Cancer Cell] Maternal T Cells Limit Engraftment After In Utero Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Mice Researchers demonstrated that there is macrochimerism of maternal leukocytes in the blood of unmanipulated mouse fetuses, with substantial increases in T cell trafficking after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation. [J Clin Invest] Breast Cancer Stem Cells Are Regulated by Mesenchymal Stem Cells Through Cytokine Networks Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells may accelerate human breast tumor growth by generating cytokine networks that regulate the cancer stem cell population. [Cancer Res] Determination of Somatic and Cancer Stem Cell Self-Renewing Symmetric Division Rate Using Sphere Assays The neurosphere assay mathematical model presented here allows the assessment of the rate malignant stem-like cells expand via symmetric division and the evaluation of the effects of therapeutics on the self-renewal and proliferative activity of this clinically relevant population that drive tumor growth and recurrence. [PLoS One] Stromal Endothelial Cells Directly Influence Cancer Progression Findings add to an emerging appreciation of endothelial cell (EC)-regulatory effects that transcend their structural roles and pave the way for improved characterization and control of EC-cancer cross-talk interactions for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer. [Sci Transl Med] An Aptamer-siRNA Chimera Suppresses HIV-1 Viral Loads and Protects from Helper CD4+ T Cell Decline in Humanized Mice Researchers have developed a different combination approach for the treatment of HIV infection in which an RNA aptamer, with high binding affinity to the HIV-1 envelope protein and virus neutralization properties, is attached to and delivers a small interfering RNA (siRNA) that triggers sequence-specific degradation of HIV RNAs. [Sci Transl Med]
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