(Press-News.org) DOE Laboratories Help Develop Promising New Cancer Fighting Drug, Vemurafenib
Powerful X-Rays Enable Development of Successful Treatment for Melanoma and Other Life-Threatening Diseases
WASHINGTON, DC – Powerful X-ray technology developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) national laboratories is revealing new insights into diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to the swine flu, and, most recently, enabled the discovery of a groundbreaking new drug treatment for malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The drug, Zelboraf (vemurafenib), received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on Wednesday. In showing the structures of diseased and disease-causing molecules at their basic level, these extremely bright light sources enable scientists to suggest potential new treatments.
"This technology is a wonderful example of how innovations at our national laboratories lead to discoveries in a wide variety of fields," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "In this case, we are pleased to have been involved in research that has shown great promise in the battle against life-threatening melanoma."
An increasing number of drug discovery companies and medical researchers are turning to the powerful X-ray facilities at the DOE national laboratories to probe the causes of disease and develop new treatments. Researchers from Plexxikon Inc., the drug discovery company that developed the melanoma treatment, used X-ray light sources at three national laboratories –SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory–to determine the specific, 3-D protein structure of a mutated enzyme that tells melanoma cancer cells to multiply uncontrollably.
The researchers used a technique called "macromolecular X-ray crystallography" to develop a drug that would prevent the enzyme from doing this. The newly FDA-approved drug, Zelboraf (vemurafenib), was extremely successful during clinical trials in disrupting the disease and extending the lives of those diagnosed with it.
"Plexxikon's drug discovery approach is critically dependent on harnessing the power of X-ray crystallography, and the role of DOE facilities in enabling the development of compounds like vemurafenib has been fundamental," said Gideon Bollag, Senior Vice President for Research at Plexxikon. "With the insight we gain from the three-dimensional structures, we have an atomic road map to rationally optimize our drug candidates."
In addition to this treatment for melanoma, the extremely bright light sources at these Office of Science labs have revealed new insights into diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, swine flu, autoimmune disorders, bird flu, hepatitis, and the common cold. In showing the structures of diseased and disease-causing molecular machines at their basic level, the tools for discovery enable scientists to suggest potential new treatments and offer brighter hopes for tomorrow.
The Department of Energy supports five of these advanced X-ray light sources, which are typically football field-sized installations optimized to produce precise, high intensity X-ray beams. Scientists from across the nation and around the globe are actively taking advantage of these scientific user facilities at the national laboratories to make discoveries in a diverse array of disciplines ranging from advanced energy research and materials science to biology and medicine.
###
The Department's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the Unites States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov/.
DOE laboratories help develop promising new cancer fighting drug, vemurafenib
Powerful X-rays enable development of successful treatment for melanoma and other life-threatening diseases
2011-08-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
NASA satellite data confirms Greg a hurricane, Fernanda a tropical storm
2011-08-19
Big sisters don't like being overshadowed by their younger brothers and that's what has happened in the eastern Pacific Ocean with Tropical Storm Fernanda and now Hurricane Greg. Despite the difference in strength, NASA satellite imagery shows some strong convection happening in both tropical cyclones and that they're now matched in size.
Greg grew into a hurricane today is it continues moving near the western coast of Mexico, while Fernanda has maintained tropical storm strength.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-11 caught an image of ...
Lung function declines as chest deformity deepens
2011-08-19
A common deformity that cases a depression in the chest wall inhibits lung function as the cavity grows deeper, a national study of 327 patients published in the Journal of Pediatrics found.
"These results confirm what we have observed anecdotally, that children with more severe pectus excavatum report more incidents of shortness of breath and a higher degree of exercise intolerance," said one of the study's lead authors, Dr. Robert Kelly, a pediatric surgeon at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia.
Pectus excavatum, a condition sometimes ...
Biologists' discovery may force revision of biology textbooks
2011-08-19
Basic biology textbooks may need a bit of revising now that biologists at UC San Diego have discovered a never-before-noticed component of our basic genetic material.
According to the textbooks, chromatin, the natural state of DNA in the cell, is made up of nucleosomes. And nucleosomes are the basic repeating unit of chromatin.
When viewed by a high powered microscope, nucleosomes look like beads on a string (photo at right). But in the August 19th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, UC San Diego biologists report their discovery of a novel chromatin particle halfway ...
Strengthening fragile immune memories to fight chronic infections
2011-08-19
After recovering from the flu or another acute infection, your immune system is ready to react quickly if you run into the same virus again. White blood cells called memory T cells develop during the infection and help the immune system remember the virus and attack it if it comes back.
But chronic infections such as those caused by viruses like HIV and hepatitis C are different. If the immune system can't clear the infection out of the body fast enough, the memory T cells that initially developed against the virus upon first encounter are lost. This poses a challenge ...
Four-year-olds know that being right is not enough
2011-08-19
As they grow, children learn a lot about the world from what other people tell them. Along the way, they have to figure out who is a reliable source of information. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that when children reach around 4 years, they start noticing whether someone is actually knowledgeable or if they're just getting the answers from someone else.
Earlier studies have found that children as young as age three pay attention to whether someone is an ...
AGU journal highlights -- Aug. 18
2011-08-19
The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface (JGR-F), Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences (JGR-G), and Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (JGR-C).
1. Slowly but steadily, a stormier Europe
One anticipated consequence of global warming is a rise in the strength and frequency of wind storms striking Europe, bringing about associated increases in property damage, choppy seas, and coastal flooding. Previous research, mostly based ...
The future of inks, paints and coatings takes shape
2011-08-19
If you've ever spilled a drop of coffee on a surface, you might have noticed the curious way the color concentrates at the edges when the coffee dries. This is known as the "coffee ring effect," and recently, researchers have determined that the shape of the particles in the liquid is an important factor in creating this pattern. The research results could eventually translate into new techniques or formulations for product coatings, or better inks and paints.
This work, published in the August 18 issue of the journal Nature was performed by Arjun Yodh and colleagues ...
Increased celiac disease prevalence in women with unexplained infertility
2011-08-19
A recent study demonstrated increased rates of celiac disease in women who present with unexplained infertility. Published in the May-June 2011 issue of The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the study evaluated 191 female patients presenting with infertility. Each participant underwent serologic screening for celiac disease as well as routine infertility testing. The 4 patients who had positive serum test results were advised to seek evaluation with a gastroenterologist. All 4 patients were confirmed to have celiac disease. They then underwent nutritional counseling ...
New CU-Boulder study reveals bacteria from dog feces in outdoor air of urbanized air
2011-08-19
Bacteria from fecal material -- in particular, dog fecal material -- may constitute the dominant source of airborne bacteria in Cleveland's and Detroit's wintertime air, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.
The CU-Boulder study showed that of the four Midwestern cities in the experiment, two cities had significant quantities of fecal bacteria in the atmosphere -- with dog feces being the most likely source.
"We found unexpectedly high bacterial diversity in all of our samples, but to our surprise the airborne bacterial communities of Detroit and Cleveland ...
Research examines the black-and-white issues surrounding executions in the South
2011-08-19
An examination of post-emancipation executions in the South is revealing how race played a significant and under-examined role in executions. Annulla Linders, a University of Cincinnati associate professor of sociology, will present the research on Aug. 21, at the 106th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas.
Linders combed through newspaper archives in the Library of Congress to examine the meanings and understandings about race and justice that were produced in newspaper accounts of legal, public executions of African-American convicts ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained
Less intensive works best for agricultural soil
Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation
Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests
Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome
UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership
New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll
Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025
Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025
AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials
New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age
Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker
Chips off the old block
Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia
Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry
Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19
Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity
State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections
Young adults drive historic decline in smoking
NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research
Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development
This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack
FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology
In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity
Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects
A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions
AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate
Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative
Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine
[Press-News.org] DOE laboratories help develop promising new cancer fighting drug, vemurafenibPowerful X-rays enable development of successful treatment for melanoma and other life-threatening diseases