In a new study, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, and the University of Montreal have discovered an essential mechanism for the maintenance of the normal structure of myelin, the protective covering that insulates and supports nerve cells (neurons). Up until now, very little was known about myelin maintenance. This new information provides
Full Post: Discovery of essential mechanism for maintenance of myelin’s structure
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a small intracellular protein that helps cells commit suicide.
The finding, reported as the “paper of the week” in the January 16th print issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, could lead to drugs for combating cancer and other diseases characterized by overproduction of cells. The research was led by the late Dennis Shields, Ph.D., a professor in Einstein’s Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology for 30 years, who died unexpectedly in December.
In response to stress or as a natural part of aging, many cells undergo programmed suicide, also known as apoptosis. Cancer cells often become immortal and dangerous by developing the ability to suppress apoptosis.
A decade ago apoptosis was thought to be directed solely by the nucleus and mitochondria of cells. Dr. Shields’ laboratory was the first to show that a cellular organelle known as the Golgi apparatus also plays a role in apoptosis.
The Golgi package proteins and other substances made by cells and direct them to their destination within the cell. A protein called p115 is vital for maintaining the structure of the Golgi. In earlier research, Dr. Shields’ group demonstrated that the Golgi’s p115 protein splits into two pieces early in apoptosis and that the smaller of these protein fragments-205 amino acids in length-helps to maintain the cell-suicide process.
In the present study, the Einstein researchers identified the smallest region of this p115 protein fragment that is required for apoptosis: a peptide of just 26 amino acids in length that exerts its apoptotic action by traveling to the nucleus.
“Dennis Shields was one of our most outstanding scientists,” says E. Richard Stanley, Ph.D., chairman of developmental and molecular biology at Einstein. “His efforts to uncover fundamental mechanisms governing how cells work has led to new ways of thinking about apoptosis, in particular, how the Golgi regulates this process.”
http://www.aecom.yu.edu/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Posts:
Garbage collectors are important for removing trash; without them waste accumulates and can quickly become a health hazard. Similarly, individual cells that make up such biological organisms as humans also have sophisticated methods for managing waste. For example, cells have developed complex systems for recycling, reusing and disposing of damaged, nonfunctional waste proteins. When such
Full Post: Researchers describe how cells recycle protein waste
Scientists have revealed for the first time that cancer cells can reverse a process which irrevocably commits normal cells to die, in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer. Researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong treated human cervical, skin, liver and breast cancer cells each with three different chemicals which initiate
Full Post: Cancer cells pull off ‘Houdini’ escape to evade chemotherapy
When researchers look inside human cancer cells for the whereabouts of an important tumor-suppressor, they often catch the protein playing hooky, lolling around in cellular broth instead of muscling its way out to the cells’ membranes and foiling cancer growth. This phenomenon of delinquency puzzled scientists for a long time - until a cell biologist
Full Post: Scientists genetically grab PTEN by the tail to curtail cancer
In an important finding published online in Developmental Cell, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, along with collaborators at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have identified a protein likely responsible for causing breast cancer to spread. Metastatic cancer occurs when cancer cells from the original tumor travel to distant sites via the
Full Post: Discovery of protein that may cause breast cancer to spread
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a novel mechanism in the regulation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Researchers found that the protein receptor Ryk has a key role in the differentiation of neural stem cells, and demonstrated a signaling mechanism that regulates neuronal differentiation as stem cells begin to grow
Full Post: Discovery of mechanism that regulates the development of stem cells into neurons --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
