by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Graphical Abstract. Credit: Cell (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.05.005 Infections and other diseases can cause red blood cells to rupture, releasing the oxygen-binding molecule hemoglobin, which breaks down into heme. Free heme can cause significant inflammation and organ damage, leading to morbidity and mortality. Researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital discovered NLRP12, an innate immune pattern recognition receptor,...
by Centenary Institute Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers at the Centenary Institute and the University of Technology Sydney have identified a new drug target for the treatment and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory lung disease that causes airway blockage and that makes it difficult to breathe. Secreted by mast cells, a part...
by Rockefeller University Scanning electron micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause TB. Credit: NIAID Tuberculosis is a stubborn disease, born of yet more stubborn microbes. While many bacterial infections resolve within days of starting antibiotics, tuberculosis often refuses to budge for around six months, and in some cases, may never release its vice grip on the...
By Rich Haridy February 14, 2022 A newly discovered compound heightens the expression of a protein that helps regulate insulin secretion from the pancreas Depositphotos A new preclinical study has demonstrated how an experimental drug can treat type 2 diabetes by increasing the expression of a recently discovered protein found to influence insulin signaling in...
by Public Library of Science Histological pictures of aggressive hepatic tumors obtained from transgenic mice (using tail vein injection of transposable genetic elements) with induced overexpression of MAGEA3. Credit: Craig AJ et al., 2021, PLOS Genetics Drugs targeting the gene MAGEA3 may help block the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary...
C. difficile infection (CDI) is the most frequent cause of healthcare-acquired gastrointestinal infections and death in developed countries. Published in Nature Communications, the study reveals the first 3D structure of the C. difficile toxin B (TcdB) in complex with a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4), a human receptor. “TcdB is one of two homologous C....
by Northwestern University A colorized scanning electron micrograph of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Credit: NIAID Scientists are already preparing for a possible next coronavirus pandemic to strike, keeping with the seven-year pattern since 2004. In future-looking research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine scientists has identified a novel target for a drug to treat SARS-CoV-2 that also...
