Feature Channels: Cell Biology

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Drug therapies for many conditions end up treating the whole body even when only one part needs it. But this generalized approach can hurt healthy cells, causing nasty side effects. To send drugs to specific disease locations, researchers developed cellular “backpacks” that are designed to carry a therapeutic cargo only to inflamed disease sites. The researchers present their work at the 251st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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Imagine you wanted to know how much energy it took to bike up a mountain, but couldn’t finish the ride to the peak yourself. So, to get the total energy required, you and a team of friends strap energy meters to your bikes and ride the route in a relay, then add up your individual energy inputs. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, are currently using a similar approach, powered by LLNL’s world-class supercomputers, to simulate the energy requirements for candidate drug molecules to permeate cell membranes – shaving weeks of compound testing by determining in advance how readily they’ll enter cells to perform their activity.

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If you suffer from atrial fibrillation (AF) -- a condition where disorganized electrical signals cause the heart’s upper chambers to contract quickly and irregularly -- your doctor may prescribe an antiarrhythmic drug. Now, researchers have new insight into how these drugs work. They found that multi-target drugs, which are the most commonly prescribed drugs to treat AF and are considered the most efficacious, may work by changing properties of the cell membrane.

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Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time developed a way to predict how a specific type of stem cell will act against different diseases.

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In a new preclinical study in Cancer Discovery, researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) at the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered the poorly understood mechanics of how macrophages can be “re-educated” by an experimental immune therapy to help tear down the scaffolding that surrounds and protects pancreas cancer from chemotherapy.

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Scientists at Berkeley Lab have developed a new imaging technique, tested on samples of nanoscale gold and carbon, that greatly improves images of light elements using fewer electrons. The technique can reveal structural details for materials that would be invisible to some traditional methods.

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When it comes to cancerous mutations, cells in soft tissues like bone marrow and the brain tend to exhibit fewer irregularities than their stiffer somatic brethren in the lungs or bone. According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, this isn’t only due to differences between the cells’ type and function, but also to the rigid forces of resistance that act on them when they move and divide.

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The development of every animal in the history of the world began with a simple step: the fusion of a spermatozoon with an oocyte. Despite the ubiquity of this process, the actual mechanisms through which fertilization occurs remain poorly understood. A new tool developed by a team of French biophysicists may soon shed light on this still-mysterious process, and has already captured highly detailed images of what happens when sperm and egg first touch.

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Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, with colleagues in Spain and Germany, have unraveled how elevated levels of particular proteins in cancer cells trigger hyperactivity in other proteins, fueling the growth and spread of a variety of cancers.

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An overwhelming majority of people with incurable cancer want to hear findings from DNA sequencing of their own tumors and normal cells, and to learn how those results may affect their health and treatment options, Dana Farber Cancer Institute scientists report.

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Researchers have developed a new analytical tool for medical applications and biological research that might be used to diagnose cancer more rapidly than conventional methods.

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High-tech photography in the Amazon reveals that young leaves grow in at the same times as older ones perish, in strong contrast to temperate forests in North America or Europe, resulting in seasonal increases in photosynthesis that must be taken into account to build more accurate climate models.

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Cells with higher fat content outlive lean cells, says a new study from Michigan State University.

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This winter has provided several dramatic developments in the ongoing debate about whether altering the "germline" - that is, the genome of a new embryo - should be allowed. Employing the technique could permanently alter not just an individual, but also that person's future genetic lineage. In a new research essay in the journal Cell, a duo of medical and legal experts from Brown and Harvard Universities argues that if the U.S. decides to consider the practice, it has a well-drawn regulatory roadmap to follow, courtesy of the United Kingdom.

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Inflammation is a Catch-22: the body needs it to eliminate invasive organisms and foreign irritants, but excessive inflammation can harm healthy cells, contributing to aging and sometimes leading to organ failure and death. Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a protein known as p62 acts as a molecular brake to keep inflammation in check and avoid collateral damage.

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New research from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) identifies a protein that can extend the natural lifespan of C. elegans, a microscopic roundworm commonly used for research on aging and longevity. The findings, published today in Cell Reports, expand what we know about the aging process and may lead to new ways to delay the onset of human age-related diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

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Research led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the German Cancer Research Center shows molecular analysis is likely to improve classification and diagnosis of a rare brain tumor and advance precision medicine

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Researchers from the laboratory of Paul Trainor, Ph.D., at the Stowers Institute of Medical Research have developed an effective and reliable technique for studying high-arched palate using a mouse model. The methodology could expand research into the genetic aspects of this craniofacial abnormality.

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Scientists at the University of Michigan have found evidence that some carbon nanomaterials can enter into immune cell membranes, seemingly going undetected by the cell's built-in mechanisms for engulfing and disposing of foreign material, and then escape through some unidentified pathway.

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Copies of the mouse gene R2d2 can spread quickly through lab and wild mouse populations, despite the fact that the genes cause females to have fewer offspring. This is the first time scientists have used mice to show that a selfish gene responsible for infertility can become fixed in a population.

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For the first time, scientists at The Ohio State University have engineered new calcium receptors for the heart to tune the strength of the heartbeat in an animal model.

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A new study reveals that the Kurly protein is required for the proper orientation and movement of tiny hair-like projections called cilia. Defects in cilia are linked to human disease.

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Those who struggle with obesity, take heart. Losing as little as 5% of your body weight is enough to reap significant health benefits, according to a study published February 22 in Cell Metabolism. The randomized controlled trial of 40 obese men and women compared, for the first time, the health outcomes of 5%, 10%, and 15% weight loss. While additional weight loss further improved metabolic health, 5% weight loss was sufficient to reduce multiple risk factors for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

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The pathway leading to increased expression of TGF-β1 — which provokes the destructive lung remodeling of pulmonary fibrosis — involves Akt1 kinase-induction of reactive oxygen species and mitophagy, and alveolar macrophages are the primary source of TGF-β1 in the lung.

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A team of scientists from Singapore and France has revealed the underlying mechanism for the formation and growth of a fundamental type of tissue – epithelial tubes. Defects in the architecture of epithelial tubes lead to diseases such as cholestasis, atherosclerosis and polycystic kidney disease. The research findings contribute towards a deeper understanding of the principles that underline epithelial tube formation, and offer opportunities for developing better therapies for such diseases. The study suggests that the shape and size of some types of epithelial tubes are governed by the mechanical forces that arise from the interaction of cells with the supportive extracellular matrix that surrounds them.

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Team led by Rice University develops approach to uncover missing connections in biochemical networks.

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Brown University researchers may have discovered what’s responsible for discrepant findings between dozens of fundamental studies of the biology of aging. A drug commonly used in research with C. elegans worms, they report, has had unanticipated effects on lifespan.

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The research of two Montana State University microbiologists into how bacteria fend off attacks from viruses is included in a new paper published in the scientific journal Nature.

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Scientists at the University of East Anglia are getting closer to solving the problem of antibiotic resistance.

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Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that HIV infection of human immune cells triggers a massive increase in methylation, a chemical modification, to both human and viral RNA, aiding replication of the virus. The study, published February 22, 2016 in Nature Microbiology, identifies a new mechanism for controlling HIV replication and its interaction with the host immune system.

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Programming highlights from Experimental Biology 2016, April 2-6, in San Diego. Topics include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, nutrition, and pharmacology.

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A common cause of diabetes is a deficiency of insulin-producing cells in the endocrine tissue of the pancreas. New findings suggest the exocrine tissues of the pancreas instead could make a promising target for stem cell-based diabetes treatment.

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Imagine exploring a wooded site along an Alaska stream or lake for evidence of animals. Maybe you’ll see moose prints in the soil or a bit of wolf fur in a berry bush. But some species don’t leave footprints. They still leave a clue. It’s their DNA.

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NIH-funded researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital find surprising link between the death of tumor-support cells and an increased risk of cancer metastasis in mice.

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A UCLA-led collaboration has identified a specific network of genes and a pattern of gene expression mice that promote repair in the peripheral nervous system in a mouse model. This network, the researchers found, does not exist in the central nervous system. The researchers also found a drug that can promote nerve regeneration in the central nervous system.

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SBP researchers have identified specific ways in which fetal muscle stem cells remodel their environment to support their enhanced capacity for regeneration, which could lead to targets for therapies to improve adult stem cells’ ability to replace injured or degenerated muscle.

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Caltech biologists have performed the first large-scale screening in a vertebrate animal for genes that regulate sleep, and have identified a gene that when overactivated causes severe insomnia. Expression of the gene, neuromedin U (Nmu), also seems to serve as nature's stimulant--fish lacking the gene take longer to wake up in the morning and are less active during the day.

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The organs in our body may have a sexual identity of their own, new research suggests.

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In a study of patients entering the hospital for acute stroke, researchers have increased their understanding of an association between certain types of stroke and the presence of the oral bacteria (cnm-positive Streptococcus mutans).

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Two drugs that mimic a common plant hormone effectively cause DNA damage and turn off a major DNA repair mechanism, suggesting their potential use as an anti-cancer therapy.

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins have used a precision sensor in a chicken embryo to find dramatic differences in the use of copper between developing and fully mature neurons.

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A new cellular signal discovered by a team of scientists at the University of Chicago with scientists from Tel Aviv University provides a promising new lever in the control of gene expression.

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UAB researchers have found a marker on blood cells that may help the most pressing problem in chronic myelogenous leukemia today — an inability to get patients off treatment. This marker shows heterogeneity among the leukemia stem cells and correlates with leukemic potential.

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UNC School of Medicine scientists studying one of the world’s most virulent pathogens and a separate very common bacterium have discovered a new way that some bacteria can spread rapidly throughout the body – by hitchhiking on our own immune cells.

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While working to improve a tool that measures the pushes and pulls sensed by proteins in living cells, biophysicists discovered one reason spiders’ silk is so elastic: Pieces of the silk’s protein threads act like supersprings, stretching to five times their initial length. The investigators say the tool will shed light on many biological events, including the shifting forces between cells during cancer metastasis.

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Scientists at UCLA have developed a new approach that could eventually be used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The stem cell gene therapy could be applicable for 60 percent of people with Duchenne, which affects approximately 1 in 5,000 boys in the U.S. and is the most common fatal childhood genetic disease.

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On Charles Darwin's 207th birthday, a new study of evolution in a diverse group of wild tomatoes is shedding light on the importance of genetic variation in plants.

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Bolanle Olaniran, who lost two brothers to the disease, was diagnosed in 1974.

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