Interfering in Biological News

New therapeutic strategy could target toxic protein in most patients with Huntington's disease

... Laboratory studies suggest that a single small interfering RNA could reduce production of the damaging ... from one of a set of four additional small interfering RNAs. Phillip D. Zamore, an HHMI investigator ... to turn off. These strands of RNA, known as short interfering RNA (siRNA), slice apart the original RNA, which ...

An easy way to find a needle in a haystack by removing the haystack

... to alter the matrices with which the samples were applied so that no more interfering matrix-related ions were generated. In other words: they tried to remove ... conditions for rational selection of matrices that did not generate interfering ions but provided rich mass spectra of particular kinds of metabolites in ...

New lead on malaria treatment

... antibiotic fumagillin can stop malaria parasites from growing, possibly by interfering with MetAP2. But the man-made version of fumagillin causes brain cells to ... to fumagillin in hopes of finding one less toxic but still effective in interfering with PfMetAP2. They chose to further study one of these compounds, ...

Small molecules might block mutant protein production in Huntington's disease

... May 3 in Nature Biotechnology. The researchers' approach relies on interfering with the steps by which genetic information in cells is "translated" from ... proteins. The researchers also designed short lengths of RNA called small interfering RNA, or siRNA, to interfere with CAG repeats. In cells from ...

UNC study: Tinkering with the circadian clock can suppress cancer growth

... the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. "Our study indicates that interfering with the function of these clock genes in cancer tissue may be an ... their lives by 50 percent. The researchers then wanted to know how interfering with the cryptochrome gene had reduced the incidence of cancer. By closely ...

Researchers solve piece of large-scale gene silencing mystery

... survival. But Pikaard and his collaborators' research suggests that small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can direct silencing agendas that are much more ... RNAi to a "search and destroy mission." Fragments of RNA known as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) prevent specific genes from being expressed by guiding ...

Corn researchers discover novel gene shut-off mechanisms

... found that there are lots more RNAs of an unusual class known as "small interfering RNAs" in corn than there are in Arabidopsis. "This class of RNAs mainly ... mobile DNA elements called transposons," Meyers said. "Thus, small interfering RNAs act to protect the genome," he noted. "Corn contains an extra ...

BBVA Foundation international study on attitudes to stem cell research

... to do with ideas of what is natural or unnatural and concern about interfering with or altering the balance of nature. Citizens in most of the survey ... less to do with fear, and possibly more to do with perceptions that it is interfering with nature. ...

Scientists clarify a mechanism of epigenetic inheritance

... cells through their cycle of growth and division. They found that the interfering RNA molecules appear only during the brief part of the cell cycle when DNA ... for the paradox about how silent heterochromatin can be transcribed [into interfering RNA], because its transcribed only in a narrow window of the cell cycle. ...

Nucleonics initiates hepatitis B clinical trial with expressed interfering RNA therapeutic

... B1000 ( http://www.nucleonicsinc.com/products/hepb.html ) is an expressed interfering RNA (eiRNA)-based product consisting of a plasmid DNA construct designed to produce four short interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, formulated with a proprietary cationic-lipid ...

Leading cause of death in 'preemies' might be controlled by resetting a molecular switch

... another way to switch off the molecular alarm in mice with NEC by interfering with production of a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) that the researchers found associated with TLR4. By shutting down FAK with small interfering RNA, the TLR4 siren was silenced. Under these conditions, the researchers ...

Munich researchers discover new target for tailored antibiotics

... The researchers present their results in the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie . Antibiotics can hold harmful pathogens in check by interfering with their ability to produce essential compounds. Ever more bacterial strains are developing multiple antibiotic resistances, however, rendering ...

Xie Lab uncovers molecular machinery related to stem cell fate

... a mystery until now. Examining the fruit fly ovary, the Xie Lab established that BAM controls stem cell differentiation and competition by interfering with the function of the protein translation initiation factor eIF4A. EIF4A and BAM antagonize each other to regulate the balance between ...

MicroRNAs help control HIV life cycle

... levels in infected and uninfected cells and found that miR29 expression was enhanced by HIV-1 infection. Blocking the activity of miR29 with interfering RNA resulted in increased replication and infectivity of the virus. The scientists tested the association of miR29 and HIV-1 by mutating both miR29 ...

Trans fats hinder multiple steps in blood flow regulation pathways

... of arachidonic acid from linoleic acid, even when there was plenty of linoleic acid available," he said. The new study reports that in addition to interfering with the production of arachidonic acid from linoleic acid, trans fats also reduce the amount of prostacyclin needed to keep blood flowing. Thus ...

Specific genetic cause of fetal alcohol-related developmental disorders found

... Alcohol consumption by pregnant women hinders brain development in their children by interfering with the genetic processes that control thyroid hormone levels in the fetal brain, a new animal study found. Results will be presented Wednesday at ...

Strong immune response to new siRNA drugs in development may cause toxic side effects

... New Rochelle, NY, May 20, 2009Small synthetic fragments of genetic material called small interfering RNA (siRNA) can block production of abnormal proteins; however, these exciting new drug candidates can also induce a strong immune response, causing ...

Nanotechnology holds promise for STD drug delivery

... New Haven, Conn. Yale researchers describe a breakthrough in safe and effective administration of potential antiviral drugs small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules that silence genes the first step in development of a new kind of treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The work ...

Laughing hyenas, wailing levees, the sound of cheese and blaring bagpipes

... one particularly powerful way of doing this employs a technique called "time reversal." In time reversal, signals are played backwards to cancel out interfering noise. The technique is used in astronomy to remove atmospheric blurring and in medical imaging to focus ultrasonic beams. It is also being developed ...

Genetic switch potential key to new class of antibiotics

... of nature's smallest known riboswitch, and detailed how its structures control life processes in bacteria. "The work has gained attention because interfering with riboswitches in bacteria known to cause major human infections may provide a new generation of antibiotics at a time when bacteria have become ...

CSHL researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments

... RNA interference, or RNAi. It involves a host of players: the enzyme that copies DNA into RNA, which is diced into short segments called short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs; a part of the RNAi machinery known as the RITS complex; and various enzymes that are able to alter the configuration of chromatin. ...

Einstein researchers devise a fast and sensitive way to detect ricin

... working, which is probably why no antidote to ricin has yet been discovered," explained Dr. Schramm. After ricin enters cells, it kills them by interfering with their ability to make proteins─a basic cellular function. Ricin does this by disrupting ribosomal RNA (the key component of ribosomes, the ...

To fight drug addiction, UB researchers target the brain with nanoparticles

... protein in the brain that facilitates addictive behaviors. Silencing of the DARPP-32 gene with certain kinds of ribonucleic acid (RNA), called short interfering RNA (siRNA), can inhibit production of this protein and thus, could help prevent drug addiction. "When you silence this gene, the physical craving ...

Scientists at CSHL discover mobile small RNAs that set up leaf patterning in plants

... move through neighboring cells." Ta-siRNAs behave like morphogens These native, or endogenous, small RNAs are called trans-acting small interfering RNAs (ta-siRNAs). Like microRNAs and endogenous siRNAs present in other organisms, they regulate gene activity via a mechanism called RNA ...

Protein is key to embryonic stem cell differentiation

... Shp2 mESCs and showed that differentiation was dramatically impaired as the cells self-renewed as stem cells. The researchers also demonstrated small interfering RNAs in hESCs reduce Shp2 expression and subsequent cell differentiation. Feng and colleagues screened chemical libraries and identified a ...

The 'clean plate club' may turn children into overeaters

... they indicated they had received enough and the bowl of cereal was weighed. "Parents who force their kids to clean their plates at meals, may be interfering with the development of self-control that children have around food," said co-author Collin Payne of New Mexico State University, "When children ...

Scientists at CSHL discover mobile small RNAs that set up leaf patterning in plants

... move through neighboring cells." Ta-siRNAs behave like morphogens These native, or endogenous, small RNAs are called trans-acting small interfering RNAs (ta-siRNAs). Like microRNAs and endogenous siRNAs present in other organisms, they regulate gene activity via a mechanism called RNA ...

Study: Fluid buildup in lungs is part of the damage done by the flu

... the lungs generate a productive cough. But new research suggests that the influenza virus can tip the balance toward too much fluid in the lungs, interfering with the supply of oxygen to the rest of the body. An immune response ultimately is needed to eliminate the virus, but this research suggests that ...

CSHL scientists discover how 'companion' cells to sperm protect them from genetic damage

... the genome of the neighboring sperm cells from ever getting activated. The epigenetic instructions are small bits of RNA molecules called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which get transported from the companion cell and deposited into the sperm cells. There, they inactivate or "silence" transposon DNA ...

Compounds could be new class of cancer drugs

... and colleagues had discovered that PLD was important to the invasive migration of breast cancer cells in culture using a genetic tool called small interfering RNA (siRNA). "When we had evidence from siRNA and other methods that blocking PLD resulted in dramatic effects of blocking metastatic invasion of ...

Research elucidates way lungs fight bacteria and prevent infection

... cells as possible at the site of an infection is beneficial, but on the other hand too many white blood cells can lead to excessive inflammation, interfering with breathing and damaging the airways. Cystic fibrosis is one disease where this work might have particular import, Dr. Chun says. People with ...

Case Western Reserve finds mechanism underlying alt. splicing of premessenger RNA into messenger RNA

... splice site and in 12 just upstream of it, their exact positions chosen so that they would be as close as possible to the splice site without interfering with the very nearest nucleotides, which are required to complete the splices. This work was done both in vitro and in vivo, with similar results. ...

Researchers identify new anti-tumor gene

... SARI, which is induced by a potent immune system modulator called interferon, was found to suppress growth and survival of tumor cells by interfering with the action of cancer cell molecules that drive cell division and promote survival. The investigators delivered SARI to cancer cells using a ...

CSHL researchers map changing epigenetic modifications that enable transposons to run amok

... present within the plant genome are normally rendered inactive by a series of complicated steps masterminded by small molecules of RNA, called small interfering RNA (siRNA). They perform this feat in a phenomenon known as RNA interference (RNAi). The discovery that modifications of heterochromatin -- densely ...

Stowers Institute's Baumann Lab identifies key step in maturation pathway of telomerase

... second step of splicing generates a functional product in a single-step reaction." The work sheds light on human health by demonstrating that interfering with telomerase maturation can inactivate telomerase. Because finding inhibitors for telomerase has been challenging, the identification of a whole ...

New gene-silencing pathway found in plants

... that could be a good thing." Pikaard studies what's known as transcriptional gene silencing. This phenomenon is often regulated by short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, which University of Cambridge scientist David Baulcombe has called "the dark matter of genetics". By bringing about changes in DNA ...

New therapeutic target identified for rheumatoid arthritis

... investigators showed that the production of interleukin-6 was decreased if a protein called RBP-J was not present. Investigators also found that interfering with the production of RBP-J decreased the activation of certain Notch target genes. "The Toll-like receptors regulate the Notch pathway, but the ...

Optimal dose of vitamin E maximizes benefits, minimizes risk

... sudden death. Yet in some people, vitamin E causes bleeding. Scientists have known for more than 50 years that excess vitamin E promotes bleeding by interfering with vitamin K, which is essential in blood clotting. However, they haven't been able to pinpoint how the two vitamins interact. Nutrition researcher ...

When cells go bad

... telomeres. "All cancer cells have figured out how to add new telomeres, which allows them to survive and divide indefinitely," says Titen. "By interfering with this process, it might be possible to provide a route therapeutically to treat cancer." A telomere is made of short sequences of DNA ...

The dietary supplement genistein can undermine breast cancer treatment

... in the journal Carcinogenesis . Aromatase inhibitors are a mainstay of breast cancer treatment in post-menopausal women. These drugs work by interfering with the enzyme aromatase, which catalyzes a crucial step in converting precursor molecules to estradiol, the main estrogen in the body. About ...