cusabio2015的部落格

Led by Barry McColl from the University of Edinburgh, a study now provides an explanation for why individuals who have stroke are susceptible to serious infections that may lead to death. (Cusabio offers NES Monoclonal Antibody.)

Stroke is one of the most prevalent causes of death and disability worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that stroke and heart disease are responsible for a combined 15 million deaths in 2015. One major complication of acute stroke is infection, which results in elevated mortality. Currently, treatment does not focus on combating infection in part because why stroke patients are susceptible to infections remains a elusive.

Abnormal accumalation of tau protein in the brain has been linked to various neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The harmful protein aggregates can result in memory loss, confusion and even aggressive behavior. These diseases are called tauopathies. Currently, no simple test is available to identify whether individuals' symptoms are associcated with tau accumulation in the brain.

Now a new study, published in the latest version of the journal Science Translational Medicine and led by Washington University in collaboration with the University of California, has shown that antibodies can capture tau in the blood. This may aid in developing tools for measurement of tau levels.

The protein lysyl oxidase (LOX) is an extracellular copper-dependent enzyme that functions in the crosslinking of collagens and elastin. Due to this function, LOX can remodel the tumor microenvironment. Previous research has shown that upregulation of LOX appears to promote tumor growth and metastasis and is associated with poor outcome in colon, breast, pancreas, prostate and lung cancers. (Cusabio provides LOX, EGFR, and Recombinant GGCX.)

Now researchers from the University of Manchester and The Institute of Cancer Research have identified a new pathway by which LOX uses to drive tumor progression. The have described their findings in Nature Communications. The paper “Lysyl oxidase drives tumour progression by trapping EGF receptors at the cell surface” reports that LOX regulates the a transmembrane protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Like LOX, EGFR is also linked to tumor growth and spread.

Study reveals that stabilizing a specific protein could help to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and possibly other motor neuron diseases. (Cusabio provides SMN and Recombinant HTR1B.)

SMA results from a deficiency of survival motor neuron (SMN) protein due to mutations in the SMN1 gene. The deficiency leads to degeneration of motor neurons and atrophy of skeletal muscle. The severity of disease symptoms varies greatly from individual to individual. Milder forms of SMA can cause movement problems, while more severe forms can cause paralysis and even death. Currently, there is no effective therapy for SMA, and treatment is usually limited to supportive care.

Scientists have found that some diagnostic tools are not accurate enough when it comes to children with impaired kidney function, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.

The paper "Renal Function Influences Diagnostic Markers in Serum and Urine: A Study of Guanidinoacetate, Creatine, Human Epididymis Protein 4, and Neutrophil Gelatinase–Associated Lipocalin in Children" shows that diagnostic disease markers may be influenced by the renal function.

Immunotherapy has emerged as a useful treatment option for various cancers and some other disesases. However, cancer cells may utimately develop resistance to this treatment. It we can find ways to prevent this from happening or to solve it, it will greatly improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy.

In a tumor, new blood vessels are generated, and these blood vessels offer oxgen and nutrients that maintain the survival and growth of the tumor cells. These tumor blood vessels also prevent T cells from reach the tumor cells, which protects the tumor cells from the effects of the immune system and immunotherapies. VEGFA and ANGPT2 are two major proteins that are involved in the growth of tumor blood vessels and inhibiting T cell response.

As the leading cause of senile dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) constitutes a big burden on the health care system and causes much pain to the patients and their families. The prevalence of AD is expected to triple by the year 2050. A growing body of evidence suggests that AD is associated with protein misfolding and aggregation in the brain, such as accumulation of amyloid and tau.

Previous studies have linked midlife vascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking to late-life dementia. But whether these factors directly contribute to brain amyloid deposition remains a mystery. Now, a study appearing in JAMA shows that many midlife vascular risk factors indeed associated with with elevated brain amyloid.

New research shows that activation of STAT5 causes competition among other proteins, leading to an imbalance that increases the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). (STAT5 and other other proteins like Recombinant NFE2L1 can be offered by Cusabio.)

The paper, titled “Antagonism of B cell enhancer networks by STAT5 drives leukemia and poor patient survival”, appears in the journal Nature Immunology.

Pancreatic cancer is basically a hard-to-treat disease. As the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths, pancreatic cancer is blamed for 7% of all cancer-related deaths. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), the predominant form of pancreatic cancer, makes up the vast majority of all pancreatic cancer cases. 

Now an article “Dectin 1 activation on macrophages by galectin 9 promotes pancreatic carcinoma and peritumoral immune tolerance” published online 10 April 2017 in Nature Medicine reveals a mechanism that PDA uses to escape the body’s immune attack. This will lead to a new strategy for developing immunotherapies for the fatal disease. George Miller at the New York University School of Medicine is the senior author of the article.

An antibody provides great protection against radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis, researchers report in Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study is a collaboration of the German Cancer Research Center, University Hospital Center, and FibroGen, Inc.. (Cusabio provides various proteins and antibodies such as PODXL Monoclonal Antibody.)

Radiotherapy is an important treatment option for patients with cancer. In fact, nearly two thirds of cancer patients will receive radiotherapy. For this, radiotherapy often claimed to be orthodox medicine’s number 1 weapon against cancer. In most cases, radiotherapy is effective and well tolerated. However, it has potential side-effects. For example, prolonged exposure to radiation causes the healthy tissue to inflame and eventually scar, a process called fibrosis.

The protein hERG1, which functions to control the heart beat, is also associated with cancer metastasis. This is the result of the study "The conformational state of hERG1 channels determines integrin association, downstream signaling, and cancer progression"that is published in the journal Science Signaling. (Cusabio offers a number of proteins such as Recombinant FGFR3.)

The study, led by Annarosa Arcangeli and colleagues from the University of Firenze and researchers from several other institutions in Italy and Netherlands, reveals that "the interaction of β1 integrins with hERG1 channels in cancer cells stimulated distinct signaling pathways that depended on the conformational state of hERG1 and affected different aspects of tumor progression."

The Flaviviridae are a family of positive, single-stranded, enveloped RNA viruses. Dengue virus (DENV), the West Nile virus (WNV), Zika virus (ZIKV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), yellow fever virus (YFV), and several other viruses which may cause encephalitis belong to the Flaviviridae. 

Since ZIKV is still a public health concern, it appears to increase individuals who have previously infected with DENV and WNV. This is the result of a study reported in Science. 

According to findings of a new study from the Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, using antibody to inactivate GluA1 receptors in neurons can help erase fear memory in mice.

The study "Optical inactivation of synaptic GluA1 receptors erases fear memory" was published online in Nature Biotechnology on 5 December 2016.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive disease of the motor neuron system. The disease affects nerve system in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle problems. So far, ALS is still incurable and fatal, though treatment can extend patients’ survival and improve quality of life to some extent.

ALS is difficult to diagnose early. Currently, there is no single test that can identify the disease. To determine if an individual has ALS, doctors combine clinical examination with multiples tests to rule out other diseases with similar symptoms. Additionally, there is a lack of tools that monitor treatment effectiveness.

Researchers have resolved the three-dimensional structure of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), according to a paper appearing in the journal Cell.

The CFTR protein, which is encoded by the CFTR gene, functions as a channel across the membrane of cells that produce mucus, sweat, saliva, tears, and digestive enzymes. It transports chloride ions into and out of cells. CFTR has been implicated in several human diseases, including cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is caused by the presence of mutations in both copies of CFTR gene. The mutated CFTR causes the body to produce abnormally thick and sticky mucus. This kind of mucus accumulates in various organs, mostly the lungs, causing tissue damage. Over time, cystic fibrosis can lead to difficulty breathing and frequent lung infections.

The interaction between two proteins, Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Myosin-1E (MYO1E), may help cancer cells grow and metastasize, according to a study led by researchers from Mayo Clinic, University of Tuebingen, and University of Copenhagen.

FAK has been studied intensely. It is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase involved in cellular adhesion and spreading processes. Previous studies implicated FAK in a wide range of human diseases, including cancer. However, it is not easy to target FAK therapeutically.

A paper “PI3K pathway regulates ER-dependent transcription in breast cancer through the epigenetic regulator KMT2D” published in Science now provides new insight into the mechanism of breast cancer drug resistance.

Breast cancer cells may become resistant to treatment. Sometimes, even the latest drugs fail to work. The PI3K pathway is implicated in many cancers among women, including breast cancer. So inhibiting it represents a treatment strategy for breast cancer. However, when scientists tested drugs that inhibit the PI3K pathway, they found that breast cancer cells switch to another pathway -- the estrogen receptor (ER) pathway -- to maintain the growth.

As a leading cause of food poisoning and gastroenteritis, Campylobacter has plagued the poultry industry for years. According to estimates, about two-thirds of fresh retail chicken sold is contaminated with the bacteria. Although many control measures have been used to combat with the bug, each year thousands of people are made sick by it. Until now, little is known about the immunobiology of Campylobacter infection, and no vaccines are available.

Now a study, reported in the journal Scientific Reports and conducted by researchers from University of Liverpool, Newcastle University, University of Leicester, and Swansea University, sheds light on why it is difficult to develop a poultry vaccine against Campylobacter.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks joints on both sides of the body, causing inflammation, pain, swelling and loss of joint function. The disease affects everyone differently and treatments include medicine, lifestyle changes, and surgery. In RA, antibodies are produced that impact the inflammation in the joints.

In a paper in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, a team led by researchers from Uppsala University, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has found that antibodies against the cartilage protein collagen II may help predict prognosis and choose therapy for RA. These antibodies seem to be linked with a good prognosis.

Described in the journal "Blood", a study carried out by researchers including Alexey Revenko and Robert MacLeod from IONIS Pharmaceuticals Inc and Zu-Lin Chen, Pradeep Singh, Erin Norris and Sidney Strickland from The Rockefeller University shows that a plasma protein usually involved in blood coagulation and inflammation may also play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia among older people.

AD is a complex disease. Scientists have been studying the disease for decades, but there are still many questions to be answered. The disease is characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Most efforts to develop approaches to clear amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles have ended in failure.