Research News Archives - Page 5 of 8 - Sanford Burnham Prebys
Institute News

Cells on the run: researchers discover a protein required for cell motility

Authorsgammon
Date

April 28, 2015

Your cells move. They need to move for good reasons, such as when white blood cells travel to heal wounds, and for bad reasons, like when cancer cells invade surrounding tissue to metastasize. To move, cells create extensions—like feet—that make contact with a surface and lead the cell to its destination. The abnormal production of these cell extensions is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and many other neurological disorders. For these reasons, scientists are working to understand the fundamental components of cell movement. What they find may lead to treatments that can promote cell movement when you need it, and prevent it when you don’t. Continue reading “Cells on the run: researchers discover a protein required for cell motility”

Institute News

Discovery of new role of SOX2 protein sheds light on neurogenesis in the adult brain

Authorsgammon
Date

April 21, 2015

 

Newborn neurons generated from neural progenitor cells in a brain region called the hippocampus play an important role in learning and memory in adults. However, the molecular mechanisms that control this neurogenesis process have not been fully understood. Sanford-Burnham researchers recently shed new light on this question by discovering a key role of a protein called SOX2 in neuronal development. As reported online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, SOX2 promotes the activation of genes involved in differentiation, enabling neural progenitor cells to turn into mature neurons in the brains of adult mice. Continue reading “Discovery of new role of SOX2 protein sheds light on neurogenesis in the adult brain”

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Protecting pancreatic cells from stress could hold promise for treating diabetes

Authorsgammon
Date

April 21, 2015

 

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that affects about eight percent of adults worldwide, significantly increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. This disease interferes with the body’s ability to make or use a hormone called insulin, which is produced by beta cells in the pancreas. These cells eventually fail in many patients with type 2 diabetes, making insulin replacement therapy a necessity for survival. However, this treatment is imprecise, onerous and often promotes weight gain, highlighting the strong need for better treatment options. Continue reading “Protecting pancreatic cells from stress could hold promise for treating diabetes”

Institute News

The science behind the Pedal the Cause cancer research awards

Authorsgammon
Date

March 26, 2015

Pedal the Cause, the nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for cancer research, recently announced the funding awards for collaborative translational research projects for scientists at Sanford-Burnham, UC San Diego (Moores Cancer Center), and the Salk Institute. This means that scientists from these organizations will join together and embark on projects centered on what occurs “from bench to bedside” in the development of new drug treatment options for patients. Continue reading “The science behind the Pedal the Cause cancer research awards”

Institute News

Expanding the options to treat melanoma

Authorsgammon
Date

March 16, 2015

Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer with approximately 10,000 deaths per year in the U.S. and more than 65,000 worldwide. Although there are more and better treatment options available today than in previous years, there is still an urgent need to develop drugs that target the numerous pathways melanoma cells use to multiply, spread, and kill. Continue reading “Expanding the options to treat melanoma”

Institute News

Molecule that fixes “leaky” blood vessels can impact cancer, stroke, and blindness

Authorsgammon
Date

March 13, 2015

In a new study by Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., associate professor in the Cardiovascular Pathobiology Program and Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis Programs, a cellular protein called R-Ras was found to suppress the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a signaling molecule that helps create new blood vessels and is overexpressed in many tumors. The findings create a new route to treat cancer as well as certain causes of blindness and ischemic diseases. Continue reading “Molecule that fixes “leaky” blood vessels can impact cancer, stroke, and blindness”

Institute News

Study explains control of cell metabolism in patient response to breast cancer drugs

Authorsgammon
Date

March 9, 2015

A new research study has discovered a mechanism that explains why some breast cancer tumors respond to specific chemotherapies and others do not. The findings highlight the level of glutamine, an essential nutrient for cancer development, as a determinant of breast cancer response to select anticancer therapies, and identify a marker associated with glutamine uptake, for potential prognosis and stratification of breast cancer therapy. The study results were published online in Cancer Cell. Continue reading “Study explains control of cell metabolism in patient response to breast cancer drugs”

Institute News

Discovering a missing link between obesity and heart disease

AuthorGuest Blogger
Date

March 5, 2015

This post was written by Janelle Weaver, PhD, a freelance writer

Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and a major cause of disability. One major risk factor is obesity, which itself has undergone a dramatic increase in prevalence in the United States over the past 20 years and now affects more than one-third of adults. A major challenge in developing targeted drugs for diet-induced heart disease is to understand how molecular and genetic changes trigger metabolic imbalances that ultimately impair heart function. Continue reading “Discovering a missing link between obesity and heart disease”

Institute News

New compound shows promise for safe, effective treatment of heart attack and stroke

AuthorGuest Blogger
Date

February 17, 2015

Heart attack and ischemic stroke affect hundreds of thousands of Americans every year and are leading causes of death in the United States. Both of these conditions are caused by blood clots that block vessels and interrupt blood flow to the heart or the brain, respectively. Antiplatelet therapies such as aspirin prevent clotting by decreasing the activity of blood cells called platelets, thereby lowering the risk of dying from a heart attack or having a stroke. But these drugs can cause serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal toxicity, abnormally low blood cell counts, and bleeding. Therefore, there is a strong need for research aimed at better understanding the molecular mechanisms leading to platelet activation in order to develop improved therapies.

Continue reading “New compound shows promise for safe, effective treatment of heart attack and stroke”

Institute News

Melanoma’s addiction to glutamine is the basis for cancer growth

Authorsgammon
Date

February 17, 2015

Researchers at Sanford-Burnham have discovered that without a source of glutamine—one of the 20 amino acids used to build proteins—melanoma cells will stop proliferating and die. Their craving for glutamine stems from their ability to “abuse” this essential nutrient by using it as an additional source of carbon and energy. The findings present a rational basis for a treatment strategy that limits the supply of glutamine to tumors, potentially through nutritional interventions or inhibitors of glutamine uptake. The results of the study appear online in Oncotarget today. Continue reading “Melanoma’s addiction to glutamine is the basis for cancer growth”