by Kyushu University Myofibroblasts are cells that produce collagen and are key in wound repair. Mechanical stimuli of myofibroblast induces VGLL3 to produce more collagen, resulting in hardening of the extracellular matrix and the tissue. The hardening results in an increase in mechanical stimuli that again induces VGLL3 to produce more collagen. The result is...
by Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute Vitronectin illustration. Credit: Sanford Burnham Prebys/Francesca Marassi Research led by Sanford Burnham Prebys professor Francesca Marassi, Ph.D., is helping to reveal the molecular secrets of macular degeneration, which causes almost 90% of all age-related vision loss. The study, published recently in the Biophysical Journal, describes the flexible structure of...
by UT Southwestern Medical Center Stem-like cells (red) are generated from adult brain astrocytes. Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center A single protein can reverse the developmental clock on adult brain cells called astrocytes, morphing them into stem-like cells that produce neurons and other cell types, UT Southwestern researchers report in a PNAS study. The findings might someday lead...
As obesity becomes a growing issue worldwide – nearly tripling over the last-half century – scientists are trying to gain a better understanding of the condition at the molecular level. Now, new research led by UC San Francisco scientists suggests that a single protein could play an outsized role in weight gain. As reported in Nature Metabolism, UCSF’s Davide...
