(Press-News.org) GALVESTON, September 16, 2011 – Researchers have shown for the first time that the protein fortilin promotes growth of cancer cells by binding to and rendering inert protein p53, a known tumor suppressor. This finding by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch may lead to treatments for a range of cancers and atherosclerosis, which p53 also helps prevent, and appears in the current print issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
"The p53 protein is a critical defense against cancer because it activates genes that induce apoptosis, or the death of cells. However, p53 can be made powerless by mutations and inhibitors like fortilin," said Dr. Ken Fujise, lead author of the study and director, Division of Cardiology at UTMB.
Fortilin, an amino acid polypeptide protein, works in direct opposition to p53, protecting cells from apoptosis. Fujise discovered fortilin in 2000 and the protein has become a central focus of his research. This study marks the first time that scientists have been able to show the exact mechanism whereby fortilin exerts its anti-apoptotic activity.
Fujise and his team used cell cultures and animal models to show that fortilin binds to and inhibits p53, preventing it from activating genes, such as BAX and Noxa, that facilitate cell death. Thus, cells that would be killed are allowed to proliferate.
"When normal cells become cancer cells, our bodies' natural biological response is to activate p53, which eliminates the hopelessly damaged cells," said Fujise. "This process explains why the majority of people are able to stay cancer-free for most of their lives. Conversely, mutated p53 genes are seen in more than half of all human cancers, making them the most frequently observed genetic abnormality in cancer."
According to Fujise, upon further research and validation of the biological mechanism described in this study, scientists can begin exploring compounds that could modulate fortilin's activity on p53.
Such a compound would be a powerful chemotherapy agent and, because p53 inhibition has also been associated with atherosclerosis, could also protect against coronary disease and its many complications, including heart attack and stroke.
"Though we are in the early stages of this research, once screening for compounds is initiated, we could have a potential new drug to investigate in a very short period of time," said Fujise. With the support of National Institutes of Health high-throughput screening programs, which make it possible to screen very large numbers of compounds against a drug target, the process of identifying a new drug could potentially be shortened to months rather than years, he added.
Other authors include scientists at UTMB and other institutions: Yanjie Chen, Takayuki Fujita, Di Zhang, Hung Doan, Decha Pinkaew, Zhihe Liu, Jiaxin Wu, Yuichi Koide, Andrew Chiu, Curtis Chen Jun Lin, Jui-Yoa Chang; and Ke-He Ruan.
The study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and MacDonald General Research Fund.
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About UTMB Health
Established in 1891, Texas' academic health center comprises four health sciences schools, three institutes for advanced study, a research enterprise that includes one of only two national laboratories dedicated to the safe study of infectious threats to human health, and a health system offering a full range of primary and specialized medical services throughout Galveston County and the Texas Gulf Coast region. UTMB Health is a component of the University of Texas System and a member of the Texas Medical Center.
LA JOLLA, CA -- A "hidden" code linked to the DNA of plants allows them to develop and pass down new biological traits far more rapidly than previously thought, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
The study, published today in the journal Science, provides the first evidence that an organism's "epigenetic" code - an extra layer of biochemical instructions in DNA - can evolve more quickly than the genetic code and can strongly influence biological traits.
While the study was limited to a single ...
MADISON, WI, SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 -- Durum wheat is a valuable cereal crop widely used for human consumption in the United States, Canada, and several European countries. Scab or Fusarium head blight is one of the crop's most serious diseases, reducing its grain yield and quality. Current durum cultivars don't have resistance to this widespread disease.
While working on the Durum Germplasm Enhancement Project (DGE), Dr. Prem Jauhar and staff at the USDA-ARS Northern Crop Research Laboratory, Fargo, ND discovered that a diploid wheatgrass contains the genes needed for scab ...
DURHAM, N.H. – Beginning Sunday, September 18, 2011 at NASA's launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, space scientists from the University of New Hampshire will attempt to send a balloon up to 130,000 feet with a one-ton instrument payload to measure gamma rays from the Crab Pulsar, the remains of a supernova explosion that lies 6,500 light years from Earth. The launch is highly dependent on weather and wind conditions, and the launch window closes at the end of next week.
The Gamma Ray Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE), which was designed and built at the Space Science ...
MADISON, WI, SEPTMEBER 12, 2011 -- Modifying soybean seed to increase phosphorus content can improve animal nutrition and reduce feed costs and nutrient pollution. However, further research is needed to commercialize this valuable technology. Knowledge of soybean and other crops such as maize suggest that reducing phytate, the principle storage form of phosphorus in plant tissue, in seeds reduces seed germination and emergence of seedlings in the field. In soybean, however, researchers debate whether this problem exists, and suggest that other factors may be the cause.
New ...
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A research team at Michigan State University has developed a laser that could detect roadside bombs – the deadliest enemy weapon encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The laser, which has comparable output to a simple presentation pointer, potentially has the sensitivity and selectivity to canvas large areas and detect improvised explosive devices – weapons that account for around 60 percent of coalition soldiers' deaths. Marcos Dantus, chemistry professor and founder of BioPhotonic Solutions, led the team and has published the results in the current ...
VIDEO:
This animation of NOAA's GOES-13 satellite observations from Sept. 6 at 8:45 a.m. EDT through Sept. 16 at 7:45 a.m. EDT shows the movement of Hurricane Katia followed by Tropical...
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Hurricane Maria joins twelve other hurricanes on record to make landfall in Newfoundland, Canada, and NASA satellite imagery revealed its inner strength.
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over Hurricane Maria on Sept. ...
When the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite flew over Tropical Storm Sonca on Friday, Sept. 16 it found moderate rainfall mostly on the southern side of the storm. Chichi Jima can expect some of that rainfall over the weekend as Sonca passes east of the island.
TRMM passed over Tropical Storm Sonca and its precipitation radar instrument saw moderate rainfall occurring mostly on the southern side of the storm, while light-to-moderate rainfall was occurring throughout the storm. The southern edge of the storm had rainfall rates between .78 to 1.57 inches ...
Tropical Storm Roke has changed in size and is starting to change in strength. Roke appears to be consolidating in infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite.
Roke began its life as a monsoon depression with a large low-level circulation center that over time consolidated and organized. The eastern half of Tropical Storm Roke was seen in an infrared image from NASA's Aqua satellite AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) on Sept. 15, and it showed a more consolidated center with strong convection and very cold cloud-top temperatures.
Cloud-top temperatures are important ...
Two newer drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes could be linked to a significantly increased risk of developing pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, and one could also be linked to an increased risk of thyroid cancer, according to a new UCLA study.
Researchers from the Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center at UCLA examined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's database for adverse events reported between 2004 and 2009 among patients using the drugs sitagliptin and exenatide. They found a six-fold increase in the odds ratio for reported cases of pancreatitis with these ...
September 15, 2011 --. In a review of 31 peer-reviewed and published studies, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health looked generational and gender differences in alcohol consumption, alcohol disorders, and mortality. Findings indicate that people born after World War II are more likely to binge drink and develop alcohol use disorders. Researchers also found that the gender gap in alcoholism and problem drinking is narrowing in many countries.
Findings will be published in the December 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research ...
