#Scientists find genetic variants key to understanding origins of ovarian cancer New research by an international team including Keck Medicine of USC scientists is bringing the origins of ovarian cancer into sharper focus.
It remains a mystery where these cancers come from, 'said Simon Gayther, Ph d.,professor in preventive medicine, Keck School of medicine of USC, corresponding author of the international genome-wide association study (GWAS).'
'By finding these genetic markers, we begin to understand more about the biology of the disease itself.
This study tells us more about the biology of ovarian cancer from the early development stage than most research has.'
'Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer in American women and seventh most common cancer in women throughout the world (World health organization.
In 2015, more than 14,000 American women will die of ovarian cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
Most ovarian cancers have low survival rates, typically because of the misunderstanding of symptoms and discovery of the cancer in later, less treatable stages.'
'Although MOCS are a less common type of ovarian cancer with generally good prognosis when diagnosed in early stages,
they are twice as likely to be resistant to treatment at later stages, 'said Andrew Berchuck, M d.,director of gynecologic oncology at Duke university Cancer Institute,
and senior author of the study.''Our results will contribute to the identification of women at greatest risk of developing the disease with the long-term goal of prevention.'
'The association analysis was based on 1, 644 women diagnosed with MOC and more than 21,000 women without ovarian cancer.
The research was conducted as part of the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS), launched in 2009 with the goal of determining risks of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.'
'A major strength of this study is the large number of women with MOCS, which was made possible by pooling data contributed by investigators from over 40 international studies of ovarian cancer within the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium,
'said Linda Kelemen, Sc. D.,associate professor and researcher at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South carolina,
and co-first author.''By using a genome-wide scan, we could identify genetic variants that were significantly more common in women with MOC compared to those without ovarian cancer.'
'Co-first author Kate Lawrenson, Ph d. of Keck Medicine of USC believes the research will lead the way to the development of risk prediction strategies followed by clinical interventions with the potential to prevent ovarian cancer altogether,
rather than treating the disease once it has taken already hold.''The five year survival rates for ovarian cancer have not changed much in the past 30 years
and is partly from viewing ovarian cancer as a single disease, 'she said.''Our results shed light on differences in genetic risk factors for the different ovarian cancers such as MOCS.
I'm hanging my hopes on prevention. My bet is that prevention approaches will be better than finding a cure for a disease that is often diagnosed late
#New type of gecko-like gripper created Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are developing a new kind of gripper,
motivated by the ability of animals like the gecko to grip and release surfaces, that is perfectly suited for the delicate work involved in semiconductor manufacturing.
Like the gecko, the gripper has"tunable adhesion, "meaning that, despite having no moving parts,
its effective stickiness can be tuned from strong to weak. Unlike the gecko and other artificial imitators that rely on structures with complex shapes,
you have a place that has higher stress, "Minsky said.""The reason the gecko's fibers stick so well is because the mushroom-shaped tip forces the high stressed region from edge to the center,
you concentrate the stress in the center when you're pulling straight up.""To detach the posts,
which shifts the stress back to the edge and allows the crack to easily start from there.
--and can perhaps be used to target unsavory antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial pathogens and occasionally in beneficial bacteria.'
or even prevent many of the blunt-force injuries we see today.""Seepersad led the work along with UT Austin research scientist Michael Haberman.
In a new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, researchers report successfully growing multiple brain structures
Mesencephalic dopaminergic (mda) neurons and their connections to other neurons in the brain are believed to be related to disorders including drug abuse, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease,
and perhaps eating disorders, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, Tourette's syndrome, and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. However studying mda neurons and neocortical neurons in isolation does not reveal much data about how these cells actually interact in these conditions.
This new capability to grow and interconnect two types of neurons in vitro now provides researchers with an excellent model for further study."
and one of the world's highest rates of HIV-1 infection, peaking in young adults,
the winter blood samples had greater infection than those taken in summer. After six weeks of Vitamin d supplementation, the Xhosa blood sample levels of HIV-1 infection were the same as those during the summer."
"High-dosage oral vitamin D3 supplementation attenuated HIV-1 replication, increased circulating white blood cells and reversed winter-associated anemia,"the researchers reported."
"Vitamin D3 presents a low-cost supplementation to improve HIV-associated immunity
#Violence by teachers almost halved in primary schools An innovative program of activities used in Ugandan primary schools has succeeded in reducing violence by teachers against children by 42 percent, according to new research.
An innovative programme of activities used in Ugandan primary schools has succeeded in reducing violence by teachers against children by 42,
posters and guides for around 60 different activities. 1 To evaluate the Toolkit's effectiveness, researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine,
Dr Karen Devries from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said:""What's notable about these results is that we found a very large reduction.
#Protein discovery fuels redesign of mosquito-based malaria vaccine A promising type of vaccine designed to eradicate malaria by blocking parasite transmission could be a step closer,
and Dr Rhoel Dinglasan from the Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health in Baltimore, USA, focused on a protein in the Anopheles mosquito midgut called Anapn1.
and where antibodies against Anapn1 that can and can't block parasite development, bind to the protein.
Malaria is transmitted to humans by the bite of a mosquito infected with the Plasmodium parasite.
Malaria transmission-blocking vaccines are designed to prevent the spread of malaria by interrupting parasite transmission.
Vaccinated individuals in malaria-endemic countries produce antibodies to Anapn1. During routine disease transmission, when these same immunised individuals become infected with malaria parasites,
both antibodies and parasites are ingested by a mosquito during blood feeding. The antibodies block parasite development in the mosquito
breaking the cycle of transmission. The Anapn1 protein is a leading candidate for a mosquito-based malaria transmission-blocking vaccine that is being developed by Dr Dinglasan."
"This type of vaccine won't boost people's immunity to malaria, but instead it will provide a delayed benefit to the individual by protecting the entire community from parasite transmission,
"Dr Dinglasan said.""Ultimately it could lead to a reduced number of infected mosquitoes and the eventual elimination and eradication of the disease,
"he said. Anapn1 is found on the mosquito gut and is potentially a receptor for the parasite.
Dr Dinglasan said as a vaccine antigen, Anapn1 prompts people to make antibodies; however only some of these antibodies block parasite transmission,
while others do not.""This dilution of the overall antibody response to Anapn1 is problematic.
To further improve vaccine immunogenicity at the preclinical stage, we need to immuno-focus the antibody response to only the critical,
'transmission-blocking'regions of the protein, "he said. An understanding of how Anapn1 antibodies that are generated can block parasite transmission to mosquitoes
and their binding region on Anapn1 has remained elusive until now. Using the Australian Synchrotron, Dr Borg's team at Monash University were able to visualise the crystal structure of the Anapn1 protein for the first time, providing valuable insights.
Dr Dinglasan's team then provided the critical functional data to support the hypotheses generated by the Anapn1 structure."
"The Australian Synchrotron was critical in providing detailed imaging of the structure of Anapn1. In combination with other experimental data, the structure enabled us to pinpoint the binding site of Anapn1 antibodies that can
and can't block parasite development, "Dr Borg said.""We now know much more about which parts of the Anapn1 protein are involved in generating transmission-blocking antibodies
and have a new hypothesis as to how they might work, "she said. This discovery will fuel further work to understand what critical interaction the Anapn1 transmission-blocking antibodies are blocking.
It will also prompt the redesign of the Anapn1 antigen to make it more effective e
#Extreme exercise linked to blood poisoning Researchers have discovered that extreme exercise can cause intestinal bacteria to leak into the bloodstream, leading to blood poisoning.
Experts at Monash University monitored people participating in a range of extreme endurance events, including 24-hour ultra-marathons
and multi-stage ultra-marathons, run on consecutive days.""Blood samples taken before and after the events, compared with a control group,
This then triggers a systemic inflammatory response from the body's immune cells, similar to a serious infection episode.
In extreme cases, it leads to sepsis induced systemic inflammatory response syndrome, which can be fatal
and the stress it may place on gut integrity.""Nearly all of the participants in our study had blood markers identical to patients admitted to hospital with sepsis.
That's because the bacterial endotoxins that leach into the blood as a result of extreme exercise, triggers the body's immune cells into action."
"The 24-hour ultra-marathon study, published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine and the multi-stage ultra-marathon study, published in Exercise Immunology Reviews,
and heat stress s
#Comprehensive know-how and the full value chain, from technology development to complete systems Arraythe FBH develops the LED TECHNOLOGY in the UV-B and UV-C spectral range from the chip to the final
and include medical diagnostics and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as UV curing and disinfection. A further application field is plant lighting, for
which the FBH has developed and manufactured a module enabling irradiation with UV-B light of a specific wavelength.
enabling in-situ measurements in various security and health relevant fields including biology, medicine, food control, and pharmacy.
Most importantly, they also found that these stem cells can give rise to colonic tumors and sustain their growth.
Researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute have identified a new stem cell population in the colon linked to cancer growth.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Canada. It is estimated that in 2015 that 25,100 Canadians will be diagnosed with colon cancer representing 13 percent of all new cancer cases.
Dr. Samuel Asfaha, a clinician-scientist at Lawson and an assistant professor of medicine at the Schulich School of medicine & Dentistry, Western University,
and his colleagues at Columbia University (New york), have identified a previously unknown, long-lived radiation-resistant stem cell population in the colon.
they also found that these stem cells can give rise to colonic tumors and sustain their growth.
however, makes them the most likely cell of origin for cancer. In this study, the researchers sought to identify
According to Asfaha, the identification of the cellular origin of cancer, specifically colorectal cancer, is critical to the understanding of how cancer arises
as well as for the identification of new targets for drug therapy.''The identification of more than one stem cell pool in the colon has proven challenging,'stresse Asfaha.'
'These findings are exciting as we have identified an important new target for cancer therapy. It is also proof that more than one stem cell can give rise to
and sustain tumors, telling us that our cancer therapy needs to target more than one stem cell pool.'
'Until now, the only stem cell population linked to colon cancer was radiation sensitive, leading physicians to believe that radiation therapy was effective.'
and we must find new forms of therapy to target the disease, 'says Asfaha a
and can increase the rate of disease in fish.""Suspended sediments result from flood plumes, coastal agricultural and industrial development and from dredging operations
The gills of affected fish were also found to harbour disease-causing bacteria.""The presence of bacteria linked to fish disease on the gills of sediment-exposed fish suggests that exposure to,
and accumulation of sediment, may trigger the development of fish diseases, "says co-author Dr Tracy Ainsworth."
"This research underscores the necessity for future coastal developments to consider the adverse effects of sediment on fish
Researchers develop a faster way to treat the heart after a heart attack Stem cell have been the main focus of healing therapy research
For healing after a heart attack, the ideal time to administer these therapies is when reopening the clogged blood vessel
While stem cells show promise for heart attack treatment, the process of harvesting and reintroducing the cells
A new study in the American Journal of Physiology--Heart and Circulatory Physiology reports a more practical approach called microsphere therapy that can be kept on hand
Heart attacks occur when the heart's blood vessel is blocked and blood flow stops, cutting off oxygen to the heart.
researchers from Erasmus Medical center in The netherlands used a biodegradable material called Polyactive, which keeps proteins intact,
and tested the microspheres'effectiveness in pigs with induced heart attacks. The researchers observed that the microspheres were not toxic
and stayed in the heart for at least 35 days. The treatment reduced inflammation that occurs after blood flow is restored
The therapy, however, did not improve heart function. It also did not decrease the size of the area damaged by the heart attack or the composition of the scar.
According to the researchers, while the method needs to be optimized, the study shows that microsphere therapy can potentially be an"off-the-shelf and immediate alternative to stem cell therapy"for treating heart attacks and potentially other diseases s
#Risk of hepatitis E outbreak'very high'in earthquake-ravaged Nepal During the coming monsoon season, survivors of the recent earthquake that destroyed parts of Nepal face a"very high
"risk of a hepatitis E outbreak that could be especially deadly to pregnant women, according to a consensus statement from a group of infectious disease experts from around the world.
The document, published in the Lancet June 16 and signed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health's Alain Labrique and six others, states that the conditions in the April tremor that killed 8
800 people and injured more than 23,000 have left conditions ripe for Hepatitis e virus (HEV), which is primarily spread from feces to mouth via contaminated water.
and an at-risk population that mostly lacks protective antibodies,"the researchers write. There are an estimated 20 million hepatitis E infections in the world annually.
While the virus can lead to liver disease, it mostly runs its course with few long-term complications.
Yet pregnant women have a mortality rate of 25 percent when infected by the virus. There is a safe and effective vaccine available,
the researchers say, but it is licensed currently only for use in China. The World health organization has recommended not its routine use
if the vaccine were used in Nepal during monsoon season, which runs from July to September.
The group recommends that Nepalese health authorities actively work to identify cases of the disease where pregnant women are being treated;
that the Nepalese Ministry of Health should initiate a request for the vaccine and build a stockpile;
and develop targeted deployment strategies for the use of the vaccine, based on identification of high-risk populations and the available organizational capacity for safe implementation and monitoring of outcomes."
"Hepatitis E is neglected a virus that isn't well understood but we are now seeing that it is likely a major cause of maternal deaths in countries where it is common,
"says Labrique, Phd, an associate professor in the Bloomberg School's departments of international health and epidemiology."
such as the creation of manufactured goods, biofuels and therapeutic drugs. Lead author of the study Professor Rudolf Allemann,
and will lead to new candidates for biological and medical applications, and new production routes for enzymes of industrial use."
and was the first enzyme to be targeted for chemotherapy cancer treatment. Drugs were designed to bind strongly to DHFR to prevent it from working,
and protective properties that make it well-suited for a range of biomedical and optoelectronic applications.
antibodies and growth factors while lending itself to many different mechanically robust formats, said Fiorenzo Omenetto, Ph d.,senior author on the paper and associate dean for research and Frank C. Doble Professor
which he says could selectively react to different pathological agents. The ability to print antibiotics in topographical patterns could address the need for"smart"bandages,
where therapeutics are incorporated and delivered to match a complex injury. The published research was restricted to one ink cartridge,
but the scientists believe it could extend to multi-cartridge printing combining complex functions. In addition to Omenetto
#Important advance in the treatment, prevention of bacterial infection The technology is likely to have significant impact across a number of areas including dentistry,
and 86 percent of these failures are caused by bacterial infection. Developed by Dr. Michele Barbour
and treat a range of infections, but in its traditional formulation is effective for only a very short length of time.
enabling it to provide reliable protection against infection for very much longer than was previously possible.
'Research shows there is a clear need for long-acting antimicrobial products used in fillings and cements for crowns, bridges and orthodontic braces
and prevent persistent bacterial infections over a much longer time frame than is currently possible.'
which should help prevent some hard to treat infections affecting millions of people, 'said Professor Bill Bonfield, chairman of the Armourers and Brasiers Venture Prize judging panel.'
which are especially prone to infection by antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA.''''We will be using the Venture Prize award money to help us develop a robust and scalable manufacturing process,
#Beating advanced cancers: New epigenomic block for advanced cancer Array"If you think of late-stage cancer as a runaway car,
most of our drugs take a shot at a tire here and there, but sometimes they miss
. a Mayo Clinic oncologist and lead author of the study.""We believe we have identified a mechanism that seizes the cancer's biological engine
and could potentially stop it in its tracks.""The new approach zeroes in on an epigenomic fingerprint in metastatic disease, in which the body often misinterprets a healthy genetic blueprint,
producing toxic cells that run afoul of the body's normal functions. Dr. Ho and his colleagues are currently validating a test based on the newly identified epigenomic fingerprint, called H3k36me3 loss,
which could help providers identify more aggressive cancers or find the best drug for the individual patient to further personalize medical care."
"This paper is the first report we know of translating this fingerprint into patient tissues,
and efforts are ongoing to expand this to tumors beyond kidney cancer, "says Dr. Ho.
The test and a potential treatment are based on an emerging discipline of medical research called epigenomics, the complex biological process through
which individual cells read their genetic blueprints and then determine what type of tissue to become.
Similarly, cancers often subvert a cell's normal epigenomic mechanisms to become more aggressive e
#Tuberculosis bacteria hide in low oxygen niches of bone marrow stem cells A new study from the Forsyth Institute is helping to shed light on latent tuberculosis and the bacteria's ability to hide in stem cells.
Some bone marrow stem cells reside in low oxygen (hypoxia) zones. These specialized zones are secured as immune cells
and toxic chemicals cannot reach this zone. Hypoxia-activated cell signaling pathways may also protect the stem cells from dying or aging.
A new study led by Forsyth Scientist Dr. Bikul Das has found that Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) hijack this protective hypoxic zone to hide intracellular to a special stem cell type.
The study was published online on June 8th in the American Journal of Pathology. Mtb the causative organism of tuberculosis, infects nearly 2. 2 billion people worldwide
and causes 1. 7 million annual deaths. This is largely attributed to the bacteria's ability to stay dormant in the human body
and later resurface as active disease. Earlier research at Forsyth revealed that Mtb hides inside a specific stem cell population in bone marrow, the CD271+mesenchymal stem cells.
"From our previous research, we learned that cancer stem cells reside in the hypoxic zones to maintain self-renewal property,
like cancer, may also have figured out the advantage of hiding in the hypoxic area.""To test this hypothesis, Dr. Das and his collaborators at Jawarharlal Nehru Univeristy (JNU), New delhi,
and Kavikrishna Laboratory, Indian Institute of technology, Guwahati, utilized a well-known mouse model of Mtb infection, where months after drug treatment,
Experiments also confirmed that these stem cells express a hypoxia activated gene, the hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha.
the team isolated the CD271+stem cell type from the bone marrow of TB infected human subjects who had undergone extensive treatment for the disease.
"These findings now explain why it is difficult to develop vaccines against tuberculosis, "said Dr. Das."
"The immune cells activated by the vaccine agent may not be able to reach the hypoxic site of bone marrow to target these"wolfs-in-stem-cell-clothing."
and its application to global health issues including TB, HIV and oral cancer, all critical problems in the area where Kavikrishna Laboratory is located d
#Discovery promises new treatments to thwart colon cancer Scientists at St jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered how an immune system protein,
called AIM2 (Absent in Melanoma 2), plays a role in determining the aggressiveness of colon cancer.
a member of the St jude Department of Immunology, published their findings in a recent issue of the journal Cell.
'Since reduced AIM2 activity in colorectal cancer patients is associated with poor survival, it might be useful to detect the level of AIM2 expression in polyps taken from colonoscopy and use this as one of the biomarkers for prognosis,
'Kanneganti said. Kanneganti and her team believe that it might be possible to prevent the disease
or reduce its risk by treating susceptible people to increase AIM2 activity and give them healthy donor bacteria.'
'In people who already have colorectal cancer, therapies that boost the expression of AIM2, such as interferons, might reduce tumor progression.
Also, transferring healthy microbiota or a group of'good'bacteria to patients with colorectal cancer at the early stage of disease may prolong survival,
'Kanneganti said. Cancer researchers had known that mutations in AIM2 were frequently found in patients with colorectal cancers.
And a study by other researchers had found that more than half of small bowel tumors had AIM2 mutations.
However, AIM2's established function in the cell was not in the machinery of cancer
said one of the paper's first authors Si Ming Man, Ph d.,a postdoctoral fellow in Kanneganti's laboratory.
'This was how we became interested in AIM2 and colorectal cancer.''In their experiments with mice, the scientists used chemicals to trigger the process mimicking the development of colorectal cancer.
They found that the mice showed drastically reduced AIM2 function, confirming the finding in humans with the cancer.
They also found that mice genetically altered to have reduced AIM2 function, when treated with the chemicals,
showed significantly more tumors than normal mice. The scientists'studies also showed that AIM2 played a role independent of its immune role,
'Many previous studies have indicated that AIM2 contributes to the immune system by acting as a pathogen sensor,
because we have found a new role for AIM2 in regulating colorectal cancer, and it does so by inhibiting excessive proliferation of stem cells in the large intestine.'
The scientists found a striking reduction in colon tumors in the AIM2-deficient mice and an increase in tumors in the normal mice.'
'What this might suggest is that transfer of some of the'good'microbiota from wild-type mice to replace the'bad'microbiota from mice lacking AIM2 offers increased protection against colorectal cancer,
or decelerate the progression of colorectal cancer in humans, especially in those who have mutations in the AIM2 gene,
#Supercomputers surprisingly link DNA crosses to cancer Supercomputers have helped scientists find a surprising link between cross-shaped (or cruciform) pieces of DNA and human cancer, according to a study at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin.
But scientists have suspected also these small cruciforms--a structure of DNA itself--to be linked to mutations that can elevate cancer risk.
altering DNA in a way that can increase risk of cancer in yeast, monkeys, and in humans.
and under in a reference database of mutations in human cancer that are somatic, meaning not inherited.
or translocations'can lead to cancer development.''We found that short inverted repeats are enriched indeed at translocation breakpoints in human cancer genomes,
'lead author Karen Vazquez said. Vasquez is the James T. Delucio Regents Professor in the Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology at The University of Texas at Austin.'
'In many cases, translocations are what turn a normal cell into a cancer cell,'co-author Albino Bacolla said.
and potentially initiate cancer development.''Vasquez said, 'We have studied also the potential mechanisms that are involved in the interplays among alternative DNA structures and cancer development.
Our team has discovered at least two different mechanistic pathways: one involving DNA replication, where these unusual structures cause a roadblock to DNA replication;
'DNA double-strand breaks can increase the risk of cancer because they can result in translocations, deletions,
'These modifications of the DNA can lead to cancer, 'Vasquez said. According to Paul Okano, program director at the Division of Cancer Biology of the National Cancer Institute,
'The focus of Dr. Vasquez'research on the mechanisms of alternate DNA structure-induced mutations, DNA breaks,
Dr. Vasquez'studies on the role of non-B DNA sequences in these mechanisms can contribute to our knowledge of the etiology of human cancer.'
Then the number of these iterations needs to be multiplied by the length of the DNA, then by the number of the translocations in our cancer patients,
'COSMIC is maintained a database by the Sanger Institute in the U k. of mutations found in human somatic, or noninheritable cancer.'
'We had 20,000 translocations from human cancers from the COSMIC database; 200 bases of DNA for each translocation;
''With TACC's support, we were able to see that this is at least one plausible explanation in human cancer etiology,
'Our overarching interest is to understand how DNA structure can influence cancer development. With access to TACC, we are more confident that DNA sequences capable of forming particular unusual structures present a plausible explanation for how DNA breaks can lead to translocations in cancer,
'Vasquez said.''Our next steps are to go forward with a mouse model that can detect mutations
and translocations in the mouse genome using human sequences from these cancer breakpoints, 'Vasquez said.
'The long term goal for these studies is to develop better prevention or treatment strategies for cancer patients,
''If we can help clinical scientists apply mechanistic information such as we hope will be gained from our research to better cancer treatment and a cancer prevention strategies,
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