(Press-News.org) Scientists from The University of Manchester – part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) - have discovered a new protein that is involved in cancer and inflammation in lung tissue.
The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, could help in the development of new drugs to target lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in Greater Manchester, with around 930 men and 790 women dying from the disease every year in the area.
While there have been major advances in treatments and outcomes for some cancers over the past 60 years, lung cancer patients have enjoyed few of these improvements and new therapies have not made a difference to their survival.
The research by the Manchester team looked at glucocorticoids, the hormones that regulate inflammation and energy production in cells in the body. In lung cancer these hormones are known to play a role in controlling cell growth.
Glucocorticoids work through receptors, and this new research reveals how these receptors work. In particular, a newly discovered enzyme, known as Merm1, was discovered to be essential for glucocorticoids to work normally. Merm1 was found to be suppressed in lung inflammation, and in cancer.
Professor David Ray, Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at The University of Manchester who led the research, said: "We know that resistance to glucocorticoids happens in various inflammatory diseases, as well as cancer, in lung tissue. We wanted to explore whether a protein, known as Merm1, was involved in this resistance and therefore involved in controlling the uncontrolled cell growth that is the hallmark of cancer."
The study showed Merm1 controls the binding between a glucocorticoid receptor and its target genes. This step is essential for the receptor to work, and to control cell growth, and division. More importantly, it revealed that inflammation, as seen in asthma or bronchitis, results in loss of Merm1.
Professor Ray said: "This work shows that targeting Merm1 could offer a new strategy in developing anti-inflammatory treatments.
Dr Toryn Poolman, from The University of Manchester and MCRC who also worked on the research, said: "The study has given us a new insight into the mechanisms at play in lung inflammation and lung cancer. We believe it could provide a new area to target drugs in lung cancer."
INFORMATION:
Lung cancer is a key area of focus for the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, and there are groups within the MCRC carrying out fundamental, translational and clinical research into the disease.
The Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) is a partnership founded by The University of Manchester, including the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Cancer Research UK.
The MCRC brings together the expertise, ambition and resources of its partner organisations in the fields of cancer treatment and clinical research and provides outstanding facilities where researchers and clinicians can work closely together. The aim of the MCRC is to improve understanding of how cancer develops, in order to translate basic and clinical research into new diagnostic tests and treatments that benefit cancer patients. More information is available at: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/mcrc
Scientists discover new protein involved in lung cancer
Scientists from the University of Manchester -- part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre -- have discovered a new protein that is involved in cancer and inflammation in lung tissue
2014-02-27
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Effective treatment for youth anxiety disorders has lasting benefit
2014-02-27
Washington D.C., February 27, 2013 – A study published in the March 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that the majority of youth with moderate to severe anxiety disorders responded well to acute treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medication (sertraline), or a combination of both. They maintained positive treatment response over a 6 month follow-up period with the help of monthly booster sessions.
As part of the NIMH Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS), a group of researchers led by Dr. ...
New invasive species breakthrough sparks interest around the world
2014-02-27
A research breakthrough at Queen's University Belfast has sparked interest among aquatic biologists, zoologists and ecologists around the world.
The joint research between Queen's and several South African institutions centred on the behaviour of some of the "world's worst" invasive species, including the large-mouth bass, an invasive fish which typically devastates invertebrate and other fish communities wherever it is introduced.
Previously, the search for general characteristics of invasive species had been elusive, but work carried out by Professor Jaimie Dick ...
More dangerous chemicals in everyday life: Now experts warn against nanosilver
2014-02-27
Endocrine disrupters are not the only worrying chemicals that ordinary consumers are exposed to in everyday life. Also nanoparticles of silver, found in e.g. dietary supplements, cosmetics and food packaging, now worry scientists. A new study from the University of Southern Denmark shows that nano-silver can penetrate our cells and cause damage.
Silver has an antibacterial effect and therefore the food and cosmetic industry often coat their products with silver nanoparticles. Nano-silver can be found in e.g. drinking bottles, cosmetics, band aids, toothbrushes, running ...
Probing the edge of chaos
2014-02-27
The edge of chaos—right before chaos sets in—is a unique place. It is found in many dynamical systems that cross the boundary between a well-behaved dynamics and a chaotic one. Now, physicists have shown that the distribution—or frequency of occurrence—of the variables constituting the physical characteristics of such systems at the edge of chaos has a very different shape than previously reported distributions. The results, by Miguel Angel Fuentes from the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico, USA, and Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile, and Alberto Robledo from the National ...
A novel treatment may reduce myocardial infarction size
2014-02-27
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) have developed a novel treatment for myocardial infarction. In a study carried out at the UEF, virus vectors were used in a mouse model to deliver small RNA molecules into the heart, and this significantly reduced the size of myocardial infarction. In the novel treatment method, RNA molecules are targeted at the regulatory area of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene (VEGF-A). These molecules use epigenetic mechanisms to enhance the production of the growth factor in cells.
The study also focused on the mechanisms ...
Over-80s often over-treated for stroke prevention
2014-02-27
People in their 80s are often prescribed drugs to ward off a stroke when the risk of a stroke is not that high and the drugs have other side effects, finds a perspective published online in Evidence Based Medicine.
People in this age group are being "over-treated," and doctors need to actively rethink their priorities and beliefs about stroke prevention, argues Dr Kit Byatt of the Department of Geriatric Medicine, The County Hospital in Hereford, UK.
Statins and antihypertensive drugs were the most commonly prescribed cardiovascular drugs in the UK in 2006. And they ...
Cesarean babies are more likely to become overweight as adults
2014-02-27
Babies born by caesarean section are more likely to be overweight or obese as adults, according to a new analysis.
The odds of being overweight or obese are 26 per cent higher for adults born by caesarean section than those born by vaginal delivery, the study found (see footnote).
The finding, reported in the journal PLOS ONE, is based on combined data from 15 studies with over 38,000 participants.
The researchers, from Imperial College London, say there are good reasons why many women should have a C-section, but mothers choosing a caesarean should be aware that ...
A road map -- and dictionary -- for the arthropod brain
2014-02-27
When you're talking about something as complex as the brain, the task isn't any easier if the vocabulary being used is just as complex. An international collaboration of neuroscientists has not only tripled the number of identified brain structures, but created a simple lexicon to talk about them, which will be enormously helpful for future research on brain function and disease.
Nick Strausfeld and Linda Restifo, both professors in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Arizona, worked with colleagues in Japan who led the project, and colleagues in Germany ...
Low birth weight reduces ability to metabolize drugs
2014-02-27
PORTLAND, Ore. – Researchers have identified another concern related to low birth weight – a difference in how the body reacts to drugs, which may last a person's entire life and further complicate treatment of illnesses or diseases that are managed with medications.
The findings add to the list of health problems that are already known to correspond to low birth weight, such as a predisposition for adult-onset diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. The implication, researchers say, is that low birth weight may not only cause increased disease, but it may also lessen the ...
Experimental treatment developed at UCLA eradicates acute leukemia in mice
2014-02-27
A diverse team of scientists from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has developed an experimental treatment that eradicates an acute type of leukemia in mice without any detectable toxic side effects. The drug works by blocking two important metabolic pathways that the leukemia cells need to grow and spread.
The study, led by Dr. Caius Radu, an associate professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at UCLA, and Dr. David Nathanson, an assistant professor of molecular and medical pharmacology, was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Elements ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Father’s mental health can impact children for years
Scientists can tell healthy and cancerous cells apart by how they move
Male athletes need higher BMI to define overweight or obesity
How thoughts influence what the eyes see
Unlocking the genetic basis of adaptive evolution: study reveals complex chromosomal rearrangements in a stick insect
Research Spotlight: Using artificial intelligence to reveal the neural dynamics of human conversation
Could opioid laws help curb domestic violence? New USF research says yes
NPS Applied Math Professor Wei Kang named 2025 SIAM Fellow
Scientists identify agent of transformation in protein blobs that morph from liquid to solid
Throwing a ‘spanner in the works’ of our cells’ machinery could help fight cancer, fatty liver disease… and hair loss
Research identifies key enzyme target to fight deadly brain cancers
New study unveils volcanic history and clues to ancient life on Mars
Monell Center study identifies GLP-1 therapies as a possible treatment for rare genetic disorder Bardet-Biedl syndrome
Scientists probe the mystery of Titan’s missing deltas
Q&A: What makes an ‘accidental dictator’ in the workplace?
Lehigh University water scientist Arup K. SenGupta honored with ASCE Freese Award and Lecture
Study highlights gaps in firearm suicide prevention among women
People with medical debt five times more likely to not receive mental health care treatment
Hydronidone for the treatment of liver fibrosis associated with chronic hepatitis B
Rise in claim denial rates for cancer-related advanced genetic testing
Legalizing youth-friendly cannabis edibles and extracts and adolescent cannabis use
Medical debt and forgone mental health care due to cost among adults
Colder temperatures increase gastroenteritis risk in Rohingya refugee camps
Acyclovir-induced nephrotoxicity: Protective potential of N-acetylcysteine
Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 upregulates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway to mitigate hepatocyte ferroptosis in chronic liver injury
AERA announces winners of the 2025 Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award
Mapping minds: The neural fingerprint of team flow dynamics
Patients support AI as radiologist backup in screening mammography
AACR: MD Anderson’s John Weinstein elected Fellow of the AACR Academy
Existing drug has potential for immune paralysis
[Press-News.org] Scientists discover new protein involved in lung cancerScientists from the University of Manchester -- part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre -- have discovered a new protein that is involved in cancer and inflammation in lung tissue