Trends Initially considered as an antiangiogenic therapy, MC is in fact a multi-targeted anti micro environment therapy. The fact that MC can directly target cancer cells and cancer stem cells has been neglected. MC can impact cancer cell metabolism. Several types of cell death, including immunogenic cell death, can be induced by MC. MC can...
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How stem cell therapy could be a future cure for alcoholism
An animal study has found that stem cell treatment could dramatically reduce alcohol intake suggesting a new treatment for alcoholism An intriguing new study has found that a single dose of human mesenchymal stem cells administered to rats bred to be high alcohol drinkers significantly reduced their voluntary alcohol intake. The research bolsters the growing...
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Glutamine Metabolism in Cancer: Understanding the Heterogeneity
The role of glutamine in cancer metabolism is more complex than previously appreciated. Glutaminase inhibition effectiveness in vivo is highly dependent on tumor cell origin and tumor microenvironment. Animal studies and anchorage-independent cell culture studies can greatly complement monolayer cell culture studies and may reveal unique metabolic patterns. The synthesis or uptake, and the utilization,...
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Siponimod cuts risk of disability progression in multiple sclerosis
(HealthDay)—For patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, the selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor1,5 modulator, siponimod, is associated with reduced relative risk of confirmed disability progression, according to a study published online March 22 in The Lancet. Ludwig Kappos, M.D., from the University of Basel in Switzerland, and colleagues conducted a phase 3 trial at 292 hospital clinics...
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A better map of targets
LA JOLLA, Calif.—Even before the struggle of developing molecules that are safe and effective against therapeutic targets, drug developers face the issue of identifying those targets in the first place. There are about 25,000 proteins in the human body, but broad methods for determining which proteins are “druggable” are few. Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute...
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Fighting cystic fibrosis with CFTR amplifier
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc. (PTI), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of groundbreaking therapies to treat cystic fibrosis (CF) and other diseases caused by dysfunctional protein processing, announced a few days ago that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation for PTI-428, the Company’s cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance...
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TSRI tightens the noose on CMT
LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) reported a week ago that they have shown a path to developing treatments for a degenerative nerve disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). The path targets the disease subtype CMT2D. As researchers report in the journal Nature Communications, it may be possible to reverse the disease by using a small molecule...
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Getting the ‘Akt’ straight in angiogenesis
LAKE NONA, Fla.—To date, the primary therapeutic focus when it comes to encouraging angiogenesis, or the development of new blood vessels, is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). But a signaling pathway discovered by researchers at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) as being pivotal for angiogenesis could offer a better option. This work was detailed...
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A Cheap, Portable Skin Cancer Detector Has Won the Dyson Award
In Brief A team of engineering graduates has won the prestigious James Dyson Award for their cheap and portable device that can detect melanoma, a form of skin cancer. The device could potentially save thousands of lives, as skin cancer is the most common type worldwide. Meet sKan Detecting skin cancer early isn’t easy. Currently,...
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Are immortalized stem cells poor surrogates?
JUPITER, Fla.—New research conducted in the lab of Dr. Donald Phinney on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has identified factors critical to the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are commonly used in stem cell therapies and clinical research. The study, published in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation, suggests a new approach...