Tag: "degrades" at biology news

Largest synthetic gene ever built offers insights into anti-malarial drug resistance

...er. During red blood cell infection, P. falciparum degrades the hemoglobin in the red cell, producing a toxic byproduct known as heme, which the parasite then crystallizes so that it won't be poisoned by it. Eventually, however, an infected person can die from cerebral hemorrhages or anemia that are consequen...

Enhancing activity of marijuana-like chemicals in brain helps treat

...great, and the drug that targeted the enzyme that degrades endocannabinoids basically did nothing alone," Kreitzer said. "But when we gave the two together, the animals really improved dramatically." ...

Moonlighting enzyme linked to neurodegenerative disease

...ins degrade more rapidly than others, but frataxin degrades at a much more rapid pace than other proteins. "We observed this degradation years ago and in doing so, we decided to go after the enzyme responsible for the degradation thinking it probably might play an important role in the regulation of frataxin ...

Ultrathin films deliver DNA as possible gene therapy tool

...yers of a polymer that is stable when dry but that degrades when exposed to water. Because the polymers carry a positive electric charge that is attractive to DNA, each polymer layer also "primes" the surface to accept the next layer of DNA. While electrostatic forces between the layers keep the film stable...

MIT bioengineer advances survival, promise of adult stem cells

...iation. However, the cell normally absorbs EGF and degrades it, and the growth factor loses its power to influence cell behavior. This has made EGF notoriously difficult to develop as a clinical product for wound healing. To control this, the researchers decided to tether EGF to a scaffold, preventing the ...

'Tribbles' protein implicated in common and aggressive form of leukemia

...enges is to determine what other proteins Tribbles degrades to cause leukemia," says Pear. The findings in mice were also validated in a large database of human cancer patients. In a survey of gene expression in AML patients, high Tribbles expression was found in a subset of patients who had been previousl...

Enzyme shreds Alzheimer's protein

...r test tube studies showed that CatB biochemically degrades Aß by snipping one end of the protein, called the C-terminal end. What's more, the enzyme also degrades the long strings of Aß that form amyloid plaque, they found. Finally, they found that increasing l...

Solved: The mystery of flesh-eating bacteria's relentless attack

...in of events. They expected to find an enzyme that degrades IL-8. Drawing on a database of enzymes and using advanced techniques that measure the levels of gene transcription products in a cell, they soon identified the culprit: an enzyme called ScpC. The team then created a mutant variation of the M14 str...

Expanding waistlines triggered by your genes

A gene that degrades the body's collagen infrastructure has been shown to make fat cells fatter and expand girth. Excess fat is stored in white adipose tissue, the primary energy depot in the body, primarily around the midsection. The gene studied by a University of Mic...

Researchers find 'secret weapon' used by SARS virus

...he body against viruses. "The SARS nsp1 protein degrades the messenger RNA instructions sent from DNA to make interferon beta, which is crucial to host immunity," said UTMB professor of microbiology and immunology Shinji Makino, senior author of a paper on the discovery to be published online the week of A...

Study reveals how cells destroy faulty proteins in cystic fibrosis

The cellular system that degrades faulty proteins created by the cystic fibrosis gene has been identified by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists. Turning off the degradation system allows some proteins to regain their proper shape, offering a new avenue for treatme...

DOE JGI finishes 100th microbial genome

...vis. Isolated from acid hot spring in Yellowstone; degrades cellulose, source of high-temperature enzymes. ...ld Weiner, University of Maryland. Marine microbe degrades and recycles insoluble complex polysaccharides; potential for conversion of complex biomass to energ...

Viagra improves high altitude exercise performance up to 45% for some

... by inhibiting phosphodiestrase-5, an enzyme which degrades cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) a cell messenger that causes the blood vessels to relax, Friedlander explained. By inhibiting the enzyme, the drug allows greater vasodilation and greater blood flow. Although the drug works in different target s...

Research identifies protein in mice that regulates bone formation

...x with a protein known as WWP1; together, the pair degrades Runx2, a transcription factor that is the master regulator of osteoblast differentiation, which activates key bone formation genes. By removing Shn3 or WWP1, Runx2 doesnt degrade, which leads to increased bone mass. The authors believe that targetin...

Secrets of the sea yield stronger artificial bone

... layers can be filled with an organic polymer that degrades over the span of several weeks, liberating antibiotics and compounds that stimulate bone growth. The idea is to place this dense hydroxyapatite-polymer composite in the body where new bone needs grow. Over time, as the polymer degrades, the scaffold...

Flesh-eating bacteria escape body's safety net

... that disease-causing Strep release an enzyme that degrades these DNA nets, thereby allowing the organism to escape the neutrophil net and spread in body tissues. The UCSD team used a molecular genetic approach for their studies, knocking out the gene encoding the DNA-degrading enzyme from a pathogenic Strep...

York researchers develop pollution-busting plants to clean up contaminated land

...out water, and if we can redeploy the enzyme which degrades the explosive making it harmless, it combines the capabilities of soil bacteria with the high biomass and uptake properties in plants "We are using an enzyme already existing in the soil but putting it into a more efficient machine to biodegrade the...

Plants give pests sock in the gut

...ly low growth rate. "In the long run, the enzyme degrades the insect's peritrophic matrix and retards the caterpillar's ability to generate a new one," says Luthe. The research has potential global implications in generating a cheap and highly effective way of controlling crop pests. Other authors of th...

Depression model leaves mice with molecular scar

...ules. Imipramine turned off an enzyme (Hdac5) that degrades the activators, allowing them to accumulate. "The molecular scar induced by chronic stress in the hippocampus, and perhaps elsewhere in the brain, can't be easily reversed," said Nestler. "To really cure depression, we probably need to find new tre...

Protein behind autumn color splendor identified

...a Polish scientist, has identified a protease that degrades LHCII. The researchers assumed that the protease belonged to a certain family of proteases, the so-called FtsH proteases, and they used genetically modified mouse-ear cress plants in which various FtsH proteases had been removed. One of these plants...

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