(Press-News.org) A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) discovered that a protein named IL23A is part of our stomach's defence against bacterial infection which leads to gastric cancer. This finding could potentially be used to combat the deadly disease.
The research group, led by Professor Yoshiaki Ito, Senior Principal Investigator at CSI Singapore, also showed that the production of IL23A by stomach cells requires the tumour suppressor gene, RUNX3, which is frequently silenced in gastric cancer. The novel study was first published online in the leading journal Cell Reports on 4 July 2014.
Every year, some 740,000 people die from gastric cancer globally. In Singapore, stomach cancer was the fourth leading cause of cancer death among men and fifth among women from 2008 to 2012. This highlights the urgent need to understand the causes of this deadly disease. It is now known that a major trigger for the development of gastric cancer is the infection of a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori. A drawn-out battle against this bacterium often causes persistent inflammation of the stomach, which is a dangerous cancer-causing condition. As such, understanding and strengthening the natural defence mounted by our stomach cells is a logical and crucial step in preventing gastric cancer.
In this study, the researchers found that a protein named IL23A normally produced only by white blood cells is released by stomach cells when exposed to H. pylori. This demonstrates that IL23A is part of our stomach's defence against bacterial infection. At the same time, they found that production of IL23A by stomach cells requires RUNX3, a tumour suppressor gene that is frequently silenced in gastric cancer. The involvement of RUNX3 appears particularly important during inflammation and infection caused by the bacterium. Their observation makes an important connection: when stomach cells lose RUNX3, they become defective in their ability to respond to infection by H. pylori, making the stomach vulnerable to this carcinogenic bacterium.
Prof Ito said, "We have been studying the frequent inactivation of RUNX3 in gastric cancer for some time. Our latest findings show that an important consequence of losing RUNX3 is a compromised immunity and this will enable us to devise better protection against pathogens."
The study was supported by the Translational and Clinical Research Flagship Programme and the National Research Foundation of Singapore.
In the next phase of research, the team will focus on determining the function of the novel IL23A complex they discovered, as part of their overall strategy to combat H. pylori-induced gastric cancer. Concomitant application for patent protection of this work by NUS will facilitate industry involvement, so that this research can be effectively used to develop novel treatments to combat gastric cancer.
INFORMATION: END
NUS researchers discover novel protein complex with potential to combat gastric cancer
New study by Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at NUS shows that the protein is produced as an immune response and requires the tumor suppressor RUNX3
2014-07-07
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Water bonus flows from climate change measures
2014-07-07
The equivalent of one-third of Melbourne's water use could be saved each year through the implementation of efficiency measures that deal with climate change, according to a new study.
Researchers at the Monash Sustainability Institute analysed the water-saving potential of 74 options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions identified in ClimateWorks Australia's award-winning Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia. The research was published this week in Springer's international journal Climatic Change.
Monash University Research Fellow Dr Philip Wallis said an analysis ...
First cancer immunotherapy for dogs developed
2014-07-07
As in humans, cancers in dogs have complex causes. The interaction of the environment, food, and genetic disposition are the most well known factors. Today nearly all methods of human medicine are basically available for dogs with cancer, but this was not true of cancer immunotherapy so far.
So-called cancer immunotherapy - which is the treatment of tumors by the use of antibodies - has been established and used very successfully in human medicine for about 20 years. Since cancer cells bear very specific antigens on the surface, the corresponding antibodies bind to these ...
Novel type of bird pollination mechanism discovered in South America
2014-07-07
The genus Axinaea belongs to the large, mainly tropical flowering plant family Melastomataceae (Meadow Beauty Family). Most of the ca. 5000 species in the family rely on bees for their pollination. Only about 100 are known to be pollinated by other insects or vertebrates. The flowers of Axinaea appear in clusters of few to more than twenty flowers and the petals of the different species are pink, yellow, orange or red. The stamens (male reproductive organs) stand out based on the contrasting colours of their bulbous appendages. The pollination mechanism of Axinaea had never ...
Pseudogenes may provide clearer understanding of biomarkers
2014-07-07
Alas, the thankless pseudogene.
Dysfunctional, unloved and seemingly of little use, these poor-cousin relatives of genes have lost their protein-coding abilities. They contain material not essential for an organism's survival and are the "last stop" for removal of genomic waste.
Not any more. The pseudogene's day may have arrived thanks to scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Han Liang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the Cancer Center is advancing knowledge of these ...
NYU researchers find 18 percent of high school seniors smoke hookah
2014-07-07
New York, NY – July 7, 2014 - While cigarette use is declining precipitously among youth, evidence indicates that American adolescents are turning to ethnically-linked alternative tobacco products, such as hookahs, cigars, and various smokeless tobacco products, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Now a new study by researchers affiliated with New York University's Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR), in the August 2014 edition of Pediatrics identifies how prevalent Hookah use is and which teens are most likely ...
Denali duck-billed dino tracks
2014-07-07
Boulder, Colo., USA – A trio of paleontologists has discovered a remarkable new tracksite in Alaska's Denali National Park filled with duck-billed dinosaur footprints -- technically referred to as hadrosaurs -- that demonstrates they not only lived in multi-generational herds but thrived in the ancient high-latitude, polar ecosystem. The paper provides new insight into the herd structure and paleobiology of northern polar dinosaurs in an arctic greenhouse world.
The article, "Herd structure in Late Cretaceous polar dinosaurs: A remarkable new dinosaur tracksite, Denali ...
Babies born to healthy mums worldwide are strikingly similar in size
2014-07-07
Babies' growth in the womb and their size at birth, especially their length, are strikingly similar the world over – when babies are born to healthy, well-educated and well-nourished mothers.
That's the finding of a landmark international study, INTERGROWTH-21st, led by Oxford University researchers, which involved almost 60,000 pregnancies in eight defined urban areas in Brazil, China, India, Italy, Kenya, Oman, the UK and USA.
Worldwide there are wide disparities in the average size of babies at birth. This has significant consequences for future health, as small ...
Researchers uncover new knowledge about our intestines
2014-07-06
Researchers from DTU Systems Biology have mapped 500 previously unknown microorganisms in human intestinal flora as well as 800 also unknown bacterial viruses (also called bacteriophages) which attack intestinal bacteria.
To map the microorganisms, the researchers have developed a new principle for analysing DNA sequence data, which they have named the co-abundance principle. A principle which basically assumes that different pieces of DNA from the same organism will occur in the same amount in a sample, and that this amount will vary over a series of samples.
"Using ...
'Nanojuice' could improve how doctors examine the gut
2014-07-06
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Located deep in the human gut, the small intestine is not easy to examine. X-rays, MRIs and ultrasound images provide snapshots but each suffers limitations.
Help is on the way.
University at Buffalo researchers are developing a new imaging technique involving nanoparticles suspended in liquid to form "nanojuice" that patients would drink. Upon reaching the small intestine, doctors would strike the nanoparticles with a harmless laser light, providing an unparalleled, non-invasive, real-time view of the organ.
Described July 6 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, ...
Discovery provides insights on how plants respond to elevated CO2 levels
2014-07-06
Biologists at UC San Diego have solved a long-standing mystery concerning the way plants reduce the numbers of their breathing pores in response to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
In a paper published in this week's early online edition of Nature, they report the discovery of a new genetic pathway in plants, made up of four genes from three different gene families that control the density of breathing pores—or "stomata"—in plant leaves in response to elevated CO2 levels.
Their discovery should help biologists better understand how the steadily increasing ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Post-LLM era: New horizons for AI with knowledge, collaboration, and co-evolution
“Sloshing” from celestial collisions solves mystery of how galactic clusters stay hot
Children poisoned by the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, has risen in the U.S. – eight years of national data shows
USC researchers observe mice may have a form of first aid
VUMC to develop AI technology for therapeutic antibody discovery
Unlocking the hidden proteome: The role of coding circular RNA in cancer
Advancing lung cancer treatment: Understanding the differences between LUAD and LUSC
Study reveals widening heart disease disparities in the US
The role of ubiquitination in cancer stem cell regulation
New insights into LSD1: a key regulator in disease pathogenesis
Vanderbilt lung transplant establishes new record
Revolutionizing cancer treatment: targeting EZH2 for a new era of precision medicine
Metasurface technology offers a compact way to generate multiphoton entanglement
Effort seeks to increase cancer-gene testing in primary care
Acoustofluidics-based method facilitates intracellular nanoparticle delivery
Sulfur bacteria team up to break down organic substances in the seabed
Stretching spider silk makes it stronger
Earth's orbital rhythms link timing of giant eruptions and climate change
Ammonia build-up kills liver cells but can be prevented using existing drug
New technical guidelines pave the way for widespread adoption of methane-reducing feed additives in dairy and livestock
Eradivir announces Phase 2 human challenge study of EV25 in healthy adults infected with influenza
New study finds that tooth size in Otaria byronia reflects historical shifts in population abundance
nTIDE March 2025 Jobs Report: Employment rate for people with disabilities holds steady at new plateau, despite February dip
Breakthrough cardiac regeneration research offers hope for the treatment of ischemic heart failure
Fluoride in drinking water is associated with impaired childhood cognition
New composite structure boosts polypropylene’s low-temperature toughness
While most Americans strongly support civics education in schools, partisan divide on DEI policies and free speech on college campuses remains
Revolutionizing surface science: Visualization of local dielectric properties of surfaces
LearningEMS: A new framework for electric vehicle energy management
Nearly half of popular tropical plant group related to birds-of-paradise and bananas are threatened with extinction
[Press-News.org] NUS researchers discover novel protein complex with potential to combat gastric cancerNew study by Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at NUS shows that the protein is produced as an immune response and requires the tumor suppressor RUNX3