science top stories popular news  

Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Novel regulation of the common tumor suppressor PTEN

01-11-2007 · EurekAlert!

PTEN is one of the most commonly mutated tumor suppressor genes. It is an antagonist for many cellular growth, proliferation and survival processes. When mutated or deleted, it causes cancers of the prostate, breast, colon and brain. Researchers led by scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have now identified fundamentally novel regulatory mechanisms of PTEN function. The findings from two related studies are published in the Jan. 12 issue of Cell.

Read more »

Keywords: novel, regulation, tumor, suppressor, pten

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Novel regulation of the common tumor suppressor PTEN":

  1. Algae Provide New Clues To Cancer
    10-13-2006 · ScienceDaily
    A microscopic green alga helped scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies identify a novel function for the retinoblastoma protein (RB), which is known for its role as a tumor suppressor in mammalian cells. By coupling cell size with cell division, RB ensures that cells stay within an optimal size range.
    Similar news · Read more »
  2. New study reveals for first time how BRCA1 mutations cause breast cancer
    12-09-2007 · EurekAlert!
    An international team of researchers led by Columbia University Medical Center's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Sweden's Lund University has, for the first time, revealed how mutations in the BRCA1 gene lead to breast cancer. Findings show that one way BRCA1 mutations cause cancer is by knocking out a powerful tumor suppressor gene known as PTEN.
    Similar news · Read more »
  3. Novel regulatory mechanism identified for key tumor suppressor p53
    11-15-2006 · EurekAlert!
    Collaborating scientists from the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and the Vienna Biocenter in Austria have identified a novel mechanism involved in normal repression of the p53 protein, perhaps the single most important molecule for the control of cancer in humans. The new molecular pathway described in the study suggests intriguing approaches to diagnosing or intervening in the progression of many types of cancer.
    Similar news · Read more »
  4. Pioneering study looks at p53’s Role in tumor-stroma interactions
    10-25-2006 · EurekAlert!
    Researchers have conducted the first comprehensive study of the role an important tumor suppressor gene plays in cancer development. P53 is known as a major tumor suppressor that is frequently mutated in human cancer. In this study, researchers used novel proteomic techniques to identify the proteins secreted by cells specifically in response to p53. The findings suggest a newfound role for wt-p53 in the control of the tumor's ability to communicate with the normal stromal cells surrounding it.
    Similar news · Read more »
  5. Pioneering study looks at p53's role in tumor-stroma interactions
    10-25-2006 · EurekAlert!
    Researchers have conducted the first comprehensive study of the role an important tumor suppressor gene plays in cancer development. P53 is known as a major tumor suppressor that is frequently mutated in human cancer. In this study, researchers used novel proteomic techniques to identify the proteins secreted by cells specifically in response to p53. The findings suggest a newfound role for wt-p53 in the control of the tumor's ability to communicate with the normal stromal cells surrounding it.
    Similar news · Read more »
  6. Algae provide new clues to cancer
    10-12-2006 · EurekAlert!
    A microscopic green alga helped scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies identify a novel function for the retinoblastoma protein (RB), which is known for its role as a tumor suppressor in mammalian cells. By coupling cell size with cell division, RB ensures that cells stay within an optimal size range.
    Similar news · Read more »
  7. Study details regulation of vital tumor suppressor gene p53
    09-05-2007 · EurekAlert!
    So vital is the p53 tumor suppressor gene in controlling cancer that its dysfunction is linked to more than half of human cancers. Now, a just-published study reveals new levels of subtlety in the body's management of this all-important tumor suppressor gene and the protein it produces. The findings, published in Nature, also outline an important new cycle of gene-regulating modifications that may be widespread in the genome.
    Similar news · Read more »
  8. 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 »
  9. Targeting sugar on blood vessels may inhibit cancer growth
    05-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
    In a study that could point to novel therapies to prevent cancer spread, or metastasis, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine have targeted a sugar that supports blood vessel growth in the tumor. Their findings will be published in the May 7 online issue of Journal of Cell Biology.
    Similar news · Read more »
  10. Novel medication improves ovarian cancer treatment
    10-31-2007 · EurekAlert!
    A new study appearing in International Journal of Gynecological Cancer states that Bevacizumab, a biologic anticancer agent that prevents tumor growth by interfering with the formation of new blood vessels, may have the potential to improve the efficacy of standard combination chemotherapy in ovarian cancer.
    Similar news · Read more »