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New insight on tissue growth in synthetic vessels used for kidney dialysis
Chronic kidney disease affects the lives of millions of people. It’s a condition marked by the loss of several key kidney functions such as removing toxins from the blood. To compensate for this loss, a patient can undergo regular dialysis to clean their blood, which, in some cases, requires the implantation of a synthetic tube to connect to the dialysis machine. However, this tube can be blocked or obstructed by irregular cell growth, which in turn can negatively affect dialysis. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in collaboration with Maastricht University have precisely studied how new tissue grows near these tubes. The paper is published in Nature Communications Biology.
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BSI researchers discover protein that guards against prostate cancer, fatty liver disease, diabetes
April 30, 2021 at 9:58am
FIU Biomolecular Sciences Institute researchers investigating a protein they hoped would be a tumor suppressor instead discovered it was responsible for protecting people from so much more.
It turns out Inositol Polyphosphate-4-Phosphatase Type II B, or INPP4B, protects obese mice and people from developing fatty liver disease, Type 2 diabetes and prostate neoplasia.
According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, 42.4 percent of adults in the U.S. are obese and adults 40 to 59 years old were more likely to be obese. The problem is especially dire for non-Hispanic Black adults, followed by Hispanic adults and non-Hispanic White adults.
A Step Toward Light Therapy: Discovery of Indigo Ion Channel Switch Expands Optogenetic Toolkit
April 30, 2021
KnChR allows sodium ions and calcium ions to pass through in the presence of indigo light. [Hideki Kandori, Nagoya Institute of Technology]
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Channels with walls of protein through which charged atoms cruise across biological barriers are called ion channels. Scientists have discovered a new ion channel that can be switched on and off by indigo blue light, the shortest wavelength of light that can be used to operate any ion channel discovered to date.
Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are ion channels found in green algae that allow the selective passage of charged atoms (ions) and can be opened or closed directly by shining light of specific wavelengths on them. The discovery of ChRs has opened a new field of research in neuroscience, optogenetics the application of light to modulate cellular and genetic functions that aspires to cure maladies from blindness to Alzheimer
Scientists gain atomic-level insight into behavior of a protein that promotes cancer growth
The neutron reflexometry method has given scientists an atomic-level insight into the behavior of Bcl-2, a protein that promotes cancerous cell growth. The new study was carried out by Umeå chemists in collaboration with the research facilities ESS and ISIS and is published in
Nature Communications Biology.
Elevated function of the cell-protecting membrane protein Bcl-2 can promote cancer and cause resistance to cancer treatment. Developing an understanding of the way it does this could inform the development of anti-cancer drugs.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but cell death is crucial to overall health, and is managed by a series of proteins from the Bcl-2 family.