(Press-News.org) Our understanding of what differentiates cancer cells from normal cells is limited by a lack of methods for studying the complex signal systems of individual cells. By combing two different methods, a team of Uppsala researchers have now provided the research world with a tool for studying signal paths on several levels at the same time. Their article is being published today in PLoS One.
"We also show that the method can be used to determine the molecular effect of drugs or pharmaceuticals," says Ola Söderberg, who directed the study at the Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University.
Interaction between separate cells is crucial for the body to function. Cells communicate with each other through direct contact and through soluble substances/molecules that are sent out as a "signal" to surrounding cells. When they bind to a receptor molecule on another cell, the signal is further transmitted into that cell by a relay of protein interactions, thereby regulating mRNA expression. Signaling between and within cells is a highly complex process that is regulated on several different levels in the signal pathways.
"What's more, signaling can differ considerably between one cell and a neighbor cell, so the possibility of studying the signaling of individual cells is extremely important for us to understand various pathological conditions, such as cancer," says Ola Söderberg.
It is the lack of methods for doing so that has limited our understanding of what differentiates cancer cells from normal cells. The new method combines two different methods that reveal protein activity and mRNA expression, respectively. This makes it possible to determine the direction of signal, that is, what the effect of signaling is. The two methods that are now being combined were developed over the last few years by this same research team.
"The possibility of now combining them will yield a clearer picture of what went wrong in cancer cells, and it will lead to greater insight into how cancer cells work together with and exploit normal cells."
In the article, the methods are used to see how quickly signals are transmitted, from the surface of cells to the nucleus, and to determine how many of the cells respond to the signals. Further, the methods can be used to understand how various drugs function and where they disrupt signaling, and will facilitate the discovery of new targeted pharmaceuticals to treat cancer.
### END
Combo method reveals cells' signal systems
2011-05-26
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Quinn Direct: New Gender Equality Rule Will Affect Your Car Insurance
2011-05-26
The European Court of Justice has ruled that insurance companies can no longer set premium prices based on gender. The new rules could mean young drivers' car insurance could be significantly cheaper in the future for male drivers. The recently issued judgment will ensure that car insurance premiums in the UK and Ireland are based on a fair risk assessment which does not include gender.
The European Court has passed a new ruling which removes gender considerations from a wide range of commercial activities. The basic principle behind this was whether or not it is legitimate ...
Nearly 1 in 5 young adults has high blood pressure, study shows
2011-05-26
The number of young adults in the United States with high blood pressure may be much higher than previously reported, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Researchers analyzed data on more than 14,000 men and women between 24 and 32 years old in 2008 from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, known as Add Health, funded by the National Institutes of Health. They found 19 percent had elevated blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension. Only about half of the participants with elevated blood pressure ...
Large NIH funded rehabilitation study looks at getting stroke patients back on their feet
2011-05-26
In the largest stroke rehabilitation study ever conducted in the United States, stroke patients who had physical therapy at home improved their ability to walk just as well as those who were treated in a training program that requires the use of a body-weight supported treadmill device followed by walking practice.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, also found that patients continued to improve up to one year after stroke, defying conventional wisdom that recovery occurs early and tops out at six months. In fact, even patients who started rehabilitation ...
Quinn Direct Comments on The European Court of Justice Gender Ruling on Car Insurance
2011-05-26
The European Court of Justice has recently issued a judgment relating to gender 'discrimination' in insurance. This ruling will see significant changes for companies in EU Member States selling car insurance, Ireland included.
To understand what this might mean for you, it's necessary to look at the background, says car insurance specialist Quinn Direct.
For many years, car insurance providers have set their car policy prices based upon the perceived risk associated with a given individual. This has been widely accepted as the fairest way of setting motor vehicle ...
Electron is surprisingly round, say Imperial scientists following 10 year study
2011-05-26
Scientists at Imperial College London have made the most accurate measurement yet of the shape of the humble electron, finding that it is almost a perfect sphere, in a study published in the journal Nature today.
The experiment, which spanned more than a decade, suggests that the electron differs from being perfectly round by less than 0.000000000000000000000000001 cm. This means that if the electron was magnified to the size of the solar system, it would still appear spherical to within the width of a human hair.
The physicists from Imperial's Centre for Cold Matter ...
Evolution of swine flu viruses traced in long-term study
2011-05-26
Although swine influenza viruses usually sicken only pigs, potentially one might also spark a pandemic in people, as occurred with the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. Because few long-term studies have surveyed flu viruses in swine, however, gaps exist in what is known about the evolution of swine influenza viruses and the conditions that enable a swine virus to infect humans and cause disease.
In new research reported in Nature, scientists analyzed the genetic makeup of more than 650 influenza viruses isolated during the systematic surveillance of pigs slaughtered in Hong ...
Cosmic explosion is new candidate for most distant object in the universe
2011-05-26
A gamma-ray burst detected by NASA's Swift satellite in April 2009 has been newly unveiled as a candidate for the most distant object in the universe. At an estimated distance of 13.14 billion light years, the burst lies far beyond any known quasar and could be more distant than any previously known galaxy or gamma-ray burst. Multiple lines of evidence in favor of a record-breaking distance for this burst, known as GRB 090429B for the 29 April 2009 date when it was discovered, are presented in a paper by an international team of astronomers led by former Penn State University ...
Rottenstein Law Group Enlisting the Power of Search Engines and Social Media to Spread the Word About Hip Replacement Recalls
2011-05-26
The Rottenstein Law Group, which represents clients with claims stemming from the failures of defective hip replacement devices manufactured and sold by DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, believes the most effective way to raise awareness about the company's faulty products and the impact they've had on unsuspecting recipients, is to turn to the Internet to keep the public informed.
Since DePuy's ASR XL Acetabular, and ASR Hip Resurfacing systems were recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August, 2010, and more recent revelations ...
All Screensavers in One Window With The Help of Newfreescreensavers.com
2011-05-26
Now it is possible to control all installed screensavers without switching between windows with the help of new version of NFS Screensavers Manager (http://newfreescreensavers.com/screensavers-manager/), created and updated by NewFreeScreensavers.com, a website with a collection of safe and free screensavers.
NFS Screensavers Manager 2.0, which helps to manage multiple screensavers on a computer, was greatly changed. What is updated?
1. Interface. Now manager has one window, featuring all possible options and a playlist. No need in switching between windows.
2. Playlist. ...
'I can hear a building over there' -- researchers study blind people's ability to echolocate
2011-05-26
Everybody has heard about echolocation in bats and dolphins. These creatures emit bursts of sounds and listen to the echoes that bounce back to detect objects in their environment. What is less well known is that people can echolocate, too. In fact, there are blind people who have learned to make clicks with their mouths and to use the returning echoes from those clicks to sense their surroundings. Some of these people are so adept at echolocation that they can use this skill to go mountain biking, play basketball, or navigate unknown environments.
Researchers at Western's ...