Protein in Biological News

Pitt researchers find promising candidate protein for cancer prevention vaccines

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 4 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests t...

Structure of protective protein in the eye lens revealed

The human eye lens consists of a highly concentrated mix of several proteins. Protective proteins prevent these proteins from aggregating and clumping. If this protective function fails, the lens blurs and the patient develops cataracts. Two research groups at the Department of Chemistry of the Te...

Little-known protein found to be key player

HOUSTON -- (July 29, 2009) -- Italian and U.S. biologists this week report that a little-understood protein previously implicated in a rare genetic disorder plays an unexpected and critical role in building and maintaining healthy cells. Even more surprising, their report in the journal Nature s...

Sticky protein helps reinforce fragile muscle membranes

A new study by scientists at the University of Iowa shows why muscle membranes don't rupture when healthy people exercise. The findings shed light on a mechanism that appears to protect cells from mechanical stress. The study, which appears online July 20-24 in Proceedings of the National Acad...

Plant protein 'doorkeepers' block invading microbes, study finds

A group of plant proteins that "shut the door" on bacteria that would otherwise infect the plant's leaves has been identified for the first time by a team of researchers in Denmark, at the University of California, Davis, and at UC Berkeley. Findings from the study, which will appear June 29 in...

Plant protein 'doorkeepers' block invading microbes, study finds

A group of plant proteins that "shut the door" on bacteria that would otherwise infect the plant's leaves has been identified for the first time by a team of researchers in Denmark, at the University of California, Davis, and at UC Berkeley. Findings from the study, which will appear June 29 in...

Structural biology scores with protein snapshot

In a landmark technical achievement, investigators in the Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology have used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods to determine the structure of the largest membrane-spanning protein to date. Although NMR methods are routinely used to "take molecular pictures" ...

Researchers observe single protein dimers wavering between two symmetrically opposed structures

LA JOLLA, CA, June 19, 2009Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute, the University of California, San Diego, and Ohio State University have used a very sensitive fluorescence technique to find that a bacterial protein thought to exist in one "natural" three-dimensional structure (shape), can...

Cancer-causing protein can also help fight the tumors it causes

Oncogenes are genes that when mutated or expressed in high concentrations can cause normal cells to become cancerous. Now research from Tel Aviv University is demonstrating that Ras, one of the first oncogenes discovered, has the power to heal as well as harm. Ph.D. student Oded Rechavi and hi...

Dual role in breast tissue for a protein involved in leukemia

Washington, DC - A protein known to play a role in growth of some types of leukemia appears to have a mixed function in breast cancer development, say researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). The findings, presented at the annual ...

Nutricia launches Nutra Neocate, weaning product designed for cows’ milk protein allergy

First and only weaning product based on 100% non-allergenic amino-acids specifically designed for children with Cows' Milk Protein Allergy and Multiple Food Protein Intolerance Nutricia launches Neocate Nutra at the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESP...

Stem cell protein offers a new cancer target

A protein abundant in embryonic stem cells is now shown to be important in cancer, and offers a possible new target for drug development, report researchers from the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston. Last year, George Daley, MD, PhD, and graduate student Srinivas Viswanathan, in ...

UCSF discovers new glucose-regulating protein linked with diabetes

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and collaborators at Harvard Medical School have linked a specialized protein in human muscles to the process that clears glucose out of the bloodstream, shedding light on what goes wrong in type 2 diabetes on a cellular level. Estab...

New therapy substitutes missing protein in those with muscular dystrophy

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have discovered a new therapy that shows potential to treat people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal disease and the most common form of muscular dystrophy in children. In the mouse model, researchers were able to substitute for ...

Plant Min protein sits tight and rescues E. coli

This release is available in Chinese . A protein vital for correct chloroplast division in plants is able to take on a similar role in bacterial cells, according to research published today in the open access j...

LSUHSC research describes function of key protein in cancer spread

New Orleans, LA Research led by David Worthylake, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, may help lay the groundwork for the development of a compound to prevent the spread of cancer. The research will be published in the May 29,...

Key protein regulating inflammation may prove relevant to controlling sepsis

Scientists at Singapore's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have identified the protein, WIP1, as the molecular "brake" that curbs severe inflammation in the body. The findings may prove relevant to developing m...

Heart protein regulates blood vessel maintenance

BOSTON (May 11, 2009) In a study led by Akiko Hata, PhD, of Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers have shown that a protein expressed in the heart, FHL2, inhibits the genes necessary for the quiescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs), which line blood vessels. Vascular smooth ...

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

DALLAS May 3, 2009 Molecules that selectively interfere with protein production can stop human cells from making the abnormal molecules that cause Huntington's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. These man-made molecules also were effective against the abnormal ...

Brain protein central to both Parkinson's, drug addiction identified

Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs. The action of the protein, known as organic cation transporter 3 or oct3, fills a...

SUMO protein guides chromatin remodeler to suppress genes

BOSTON (April 27, 2009) In an in vitro study, led by Grace Gill, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers discovered how a protein called SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) guides an enzyme complex that alters the structure of chromatin to regulate expression of genes. Chromatin ...

New study reveals the protein that makes phosphate chains in yeast

It can be found in all life forms, and serves a multitude of purposes, from energy storage to stress response to bone calcification. This molecular jack-of-all trades is polyphosphate, a long chain of phosphate molecules. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelber...

HIV dearms protective protein in cells

The AIDS-causing HIV specifically counteracts the mechanisms of human cells that protect these against viral infections a special viral protein marks protective cellular proteins for their rapid destruction and thus diminishes the cell's supply. A team of researchers in Heidelberg under supervisi...

UC Riverside biochemist to study how crops can increase protein production

RIVERSIDE, Calif. The small flowering plant Arabidopsis is widely used in laboratories as a model organism in plant biology. A member of the mustard family, Arabidopsis offers researchers several advantages such as a completely sequenced genome, a compact size, a life-cycle of about only ...

Cloud computing brings cost of protein research down to Earth

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin Biotechnology and Bioengineering Center in Milwaukee have just made the very expensive and promising area of protein research more accessible to scientists worldwide. They have developed a set of free tools called ViPDAC (virtual proteomics data...

Penn biologists discover how 'silent' mutations influence protein production

PHILADELPHIA - Biologists at the University of Pennsylvania have revealed a hidden code that determines the expression level of a gene, providing a way to distinguish efficient genes from inefficient ones. The new research, which involved creating hundreds of synthetic green-glowing genes, provid...

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

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have designed tiny RNA molecules that shut off the gene that causes Huntington's disease without damaging that gene's healthy counterpart, which maintains the health and vitality of neurons. Laboratory studies suggest that a single small interfering RNA ...

ISU researcher identifies protein that concentrates carbon dioxide in algae

AMES, Iowa -- Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are a concern to many environmentalists who research global warming. The lack of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration, however, actually limits the growth of plants and their aquatic relatives, microalgae. For pl...

Orientation of antenna protein in photosynthetic bacteria described

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have figured out the orientation of a protein in the antenna complex to its neighboring membrane in a photosynthetic bacterium, a key find in the process of energy transfer in photosynthesis. Robert Blankenship, Ph.D., Markey Distinguished Profe...

UC Davis researchers identify a protein that may help breast cancer spread, beat cancer drugs

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) New research from UC Davis Cancer Center shows that a protein called Muc4 may be the essential ingredient that allows breast cancer to spread to other organs and resist therapeutic treatment. The study, which appears in the April 1 issue of Cancer Research , is one of the fi...

Scripps scientists find structure of a protein that makes cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy

A research team at the Scripps Research Institute has obtained the first glimpse of a protein that keeps certain substances, including many drugs, out of cells. The protein, called P-glycoprotein or P-gp for short, is one of the main reasons cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Unders...

Study of protein structures reveals key events in evolutionary history

A new study of proteins, the molecular machines that drive all life, also sheds light on the history of living organisms. The study, in the journal Structure , reveals that after eons of gradual evolution, proteins suddenly experienced a "big bang" of innovation. The active regions of many pro...

Pitt researchers describe molecular '2-step' leading to protein clumps of Huntington's disease

PITTSBURGH, March 8 In a paper published in the early online version of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology , researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine deconstruct the first steps in an intricate molecular dance that might lead to the formation of pathogenic protein clum...

Calculating gene and protein connections in a Parkinson's disease model

FINDINGS: Researchers have created an algorithm that meshes existing data to produce a clearer step-by-step flow chart of how cells respond to stimuli. Using this new method, Whitehead Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists have analyzed alpha-synuclein toxicity to identify...

Researchers isolate protein domain linked to tumor progression

Troy, N.Y. When a promising cancer drug reached clinical trials in the 1990s, researchers were disappointed by the debilitating side effects that limited the trials. The drug inhibited a family of enzymes known as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Now, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Instit...

Scientists study full protein content of 'baker's yeast'

A scientist at the University of Liverpool will lead a 4 million study to analyse the entire protein content of 'baker's yeast' to further understanding of how living cells function. Many proteins that have counterparts in the human body, such as cell cycle proteins and signalling proteins, we...

New research shows high-quality protein in eggs contributes to power, strength and energy

Park Ridge, Ill. (February 17, 2009) A research review published recently in Nutrition Today (1) affirms that the high-quality protein in eggs makes a valuable contribution to muscle strength, provides a source of sustained energy and promotes satiety. High-quality protein is an important nutrie...

Long-sought protein structure may help reveal how 'gene switch' works

GAITHERSBURG, Md.The bacterium behind one of mankind's deadliest scourges, tuberculosis, is helping researchers at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) move closer to answering the decade...

Researchers identify new function of protein in cellular respiration

RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 28, 2009) Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that the protein Stat3 plays a key role in regulating mitochondria, the energy-producing machines of cells. This discovery could one day lead to the development of new treatments for heart disease to boost energ...

Jefferson scientists discover a key protein regulator of inflammation and cell death

(PHILADELPHIA) Reporting in the journal Nature , researchers led by Emad Alnemri, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, discovered a key protein component involved in inflammation. The protein, AIM2 (absent in melanoma 2), is involved...