Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Tumor vessels identified by unique molecular markers

Results from a new study have made it easier for scientists to distinguish between growing blood vessels in healthy tissues and those that are associated with tumors. This is a significant finding because this distinction, particularly at a molecular level, has remained elusive for quite some time. The research, released in the June issue of the journal Cancer Cell, published by Cell Press, has exciting implications for development of more selective vascular-targeted anticancer therapeutics.

Read more »

Keywords: tumor, vessels, identified, unique, molecular, markers, vessel, marker

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Tumor vessels identified by unique molecular markers":

1. Biomarkers predict risk for invasive breast cancer years before the tumor develops
   11-12-2007 · EurekAlert!
   A team of scientists from the University of California San Francisco has identified distinct molecular markers that predict whether or not a woman is likely to develop subsequent invasive cancer after initial diagnosis with a noninvasive form of early breast cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the November issue of Cancer Cell, provides critical information that can be used to determine whether a woman should receive more or less aggressive therapy.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
2. Study reveals a key to blood vessel growth and possible drug target
   10-14-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Researchers have identified a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in the growth of blood vessels. The finding not only offers an important insight into the development of the vascular system during embryonic development but suggests a potential target for inhibiting the blood vessels that fuel cancers, diabetic eye complications and atherosclerosis, the researchers say.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
3. Researchers identify ovarian cancer biomarkers
   03-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Researchers have identified markers unique to the cells of blood vessels running through ovarian tumors. The finding, while preliminary, could one day improve screening, diagnosis and treatment for this disease.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
4. USC researchers show that molecular markers predict tumor recurrence
   06-05-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified specific molecular markers that may help to predict tumor recurrence in stage II and III colon cancer patients.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
5. Blood-vessel blocker aids cancer-killing virus
   11-27-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Cancer-killing viruses are a promising therapy for incurable brain tumors, but their effectiveness has been limited in part because immune cells rapidly eliminate them. That immune response might be slowed, and the virus given more time to kill cancer cells, by blocking the growth of blood vessels in the tumor, new Ohio State research suggests. The study indicates that pretreatment with a drug that blocks blood-vessel growth might improve the effectiveness of cancer-killing viruses.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
6. AVN944 inhibits IMPDH & induces apoptosis-related biomarkers in patients with hematologic cancers
   12-11-2006 · EurekAlert!
   IMPDH is highly upregulated in most hematological cancers and solid tumors -- an essential role in cancer cell synthesis of DNA and RNA. Inhibition of IMPDH represents a new and important approach to treat cancer. In a Phase I trial of AVN944, AvalonRx identified a set of 34 genes. These gene markers correlate with the biochemical effects of AVN944 on protein function -- believed to result in tumor cell apoptosis at the right doses.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
7. Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
   02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
8. Study shows blood markers can help choose best dose for antiangiogenic drugs
   10-25-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Scientists at Sunnybrook have new information that may help to improve the use of anti-cancer drugs designed to block the growth of new blood vessels in tumors, a process called angiogenesis that is critical to tumor growth. While these antiangiogenic drugs are effective, at present there are no reliable methods for determining whether they are working, if the right dose is used, or if a patient will benefit from treatment.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
9. Newly identified biomarker detects and regulates spread of brain tumors
   11-10-2006 · EurekAlert!
   Researchers have identified a novel biomarker for brain tumors and have uncovered a potential role the marker may play when the tumor spreads or comes back after treatment. The biomarker, a protein known as "soluble attractin," is normally absent in the central nervous system and is undetectable in cerebral spinal fluid unless malignant astrocytomas are present in the CNS. This newfound ability to identify biomarkers for malignant astrocytomas means physicians will have a minimally invasive method to track the success of treatments.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
10. AVN944 inhibits IMPDH and induces apoptosis-related biomarkers in patients with hematologic cancers
    12-11-2006 · EurekAlert!
    IMPDH is highly upregulated in most hematological cancers and solid tumors -- an essential role in cancer cell synthesis of DNA and RNA. Inhibition of IMPDH represents a new and important approach to treat cancer. In a Phase I trial of AVN944, AvalonRx identified a set of 34 genes. These gene markers correlate with the biochemical effects of AVN944 on protein function -- believed to result in tumor cell apoptosis at the right doses.
    Similar news · Read more »