development Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys
Institute News

SBP Collaborates with NIH’s Translational Science Center on pancreatic cancer

Authorsgammon
Date

October 13, 2015

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) has initiated a novel collaborative study with Pamela Itkin-Ansari, PhD., to screen for drugs that reprogram pancreatic cancer cells back to a normal, non-threatening phenotype. The collaboration is based on Itkin-Ansari’s research and development of a screening platform to find drugs that induce the overexpression of E47, a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences, causing cells to differentiate to acinar cells—cells with normal pancreatic cell traits and characteristics.

Continue reading “SBP Collaborates with NIH’s Translational Science Center on pancreatic cancer”

Institute News

Unraveling the mystery of muscle regeneration could lead to effective treatment for muscular dystrophies

Authorsgammon
Date

September 22, 2015

By shedding light on the distinct functions of a protein complex that controls the formation of skeletal muscle tissue, SBP researchers could pave the way for the development of novel therapies for neuromuscular diseases.

Continue reading “Unraveling the mystery of muscle regeneration could lead to effective treatment for muscular dystrophies”

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”

Institute News

Newly discovered cell stress pathway could hold therapeutic promise for diverse diseases

AuthorGuest Blogger
Date

January 5, 2015

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

When cells are faced with unfavorable environmental conditions, such as limited nutrient availability, the activation of adaptive stress responses can help protect them against damage or death. For example, stressed cells can maintain sufficient energy levels for survival by degrading and recycling unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components. This survival mechanism, known as autophagy (literally, ‘self-digestion’), also plays key roles in a variety of biological processes such as development and aging, and is often perturbed in various diseases. Even though tight control of autophagy is key to survival, relatively little is known about the signaling molecules that regulate this essential process. Continue reading “Newly discovered cell stress pathway could hold therapeutic promise for diverse diseases”

Institute News

New insights into how the heart forms may help identify heart defects

AuthorGuest Blogger
Date

September 29, 2014

This is a post by our guest writer Janelle Weaver, PhD

The formation of the heart during development is a highly complex process that requires precise coordination between cells and molecular signaling pathways. The fruit fly has been widely used for studying the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms, and a great deal is known about how the fate of heart cells is controlled by signaling pathways and transcription factors—proteins that control gene activity. But beyond that, events that regulate heart formation have not been clear. Continue reading “New insights into how the heart forms may help identify heart defects”

Institute News

The bright side of free radicals

Authorsgammon
Date

September 17, 2014

In a new study by Rolf Bodmer, Ph.D., director of the Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program at Sanford-Burnham, and Hui-Ying Lim, Ph.D., assistant member of the Free Radical Biology and Aging Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation as lead author, researchers report a previously unrecognized role for reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mediating normal heart function. The findings show how under normal physiological conditions, ROS produced in non-muscle heart cells act on nearby muscle cells to maintain normal cardiac function. The results provide vital insight on how ROS direct cell communications, and in addition to the heart, may be important for the function of other organs. Continue reading “The bright side of free radicals”

Institute News

Researchers discover a key to making new muscles

Authorsgammon
Date

September 8, 2014

Researchers at Sanford-Burnham have developed a novel technique to promote tissue repair in damaged muscles. The technique also creates a sustainable pool of muscle stem cells needed to support multiple rounds of muscle repair. The study, published on September 7 in Nature Medicine, provides promise for a new therapeutic approach to treating the millions of people suffering from muscle diseases, including those with muscular dystrophies and muscle wasting associated with cancer and aging. Continue reading “Researchers discover a key to making new muscles”