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

Animals ranging from fish to humans produce a vitamin-A metabolite called retinoic acid, which plays an important role in growth and embryonic development and protects against diseases such as cancer. By regulating the activity of key genes, retinoic acid causes immature cells called embryonic stem cells to turn into mature, specialized cells such as neurons. “Neurons—the building blocks of the nervous system—are particularly important cell types in therapy, due to the fact that they normally don’t reproduce or replace themselves after they become damaged,” said Laszlo Nagy, MD, PhD, director of the Genomic Control of Metabolism Program and professor in the Diabetes and Obesity Research Center at Sanford-Burnham’s Lake Nona campus. “Despite their crucial role, we still have a limited understanding regarding the molecular programs that coordinate their functionality.” Continue reading “Enzymes could be key for brain cancer and Alzheimer’s disease”