Tag: cell

Cell growth and division result in an increase in the number of cells. This is known as cell proliferation. To measure this, cell proliferation assays are utilized. This article will discuss what cell proliferation assays are and why measuring cell proliferation is important. Image Credit: unoL/Shutterstock.com What is a cell proliferation assay? Cell proliferation assays

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are thought to have great potential in the field of regenerative medicine, which has the aim of restoring damaged tissues. However, not much was known about in vivo plasticity of them—until now. Researchers have identified a subpopulation of MSCs that promote the healing of bone fractures and show an enhanced ability

In three studies from the Cancer Cell Map Initiative, researchers uncovered previously unknown interactions between proteins that drive cancer and combined this new data to generate a map of protein pathways informing cancer outcomes. Their approach offers a framework that could improve scientists' understanding of cancer progression and aid in identifying therapeutic targets. For many

Researchers at the University of Southampton have invented a new way to generate human cartilage tissue from stem cells. The technique could pave the way for the development of a much-needed new treatment for people with cartilage damage. Cartilage acts as a shock absorber in joints, but it is susceptible to damage through daily wear-and-tear,

A study led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found a significant association between cholesterol-lowering drugs commonly known as statins and survival rates of triple-negative breast cancer patients. Since statins are low in cost, easy to access and produce minimal side effects, this could have an important impact on outcomes

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread worldwide, the rapid development and rollout of vaccines against its causative pathogen – the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – has raised hopes for many worldwide that a return to ‘normality’ may be on the horizon. New drugs have also been urgently sought to mitigate

Researchers have just established a structural basis for two spike glycoprotein epitopes of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that are restricted to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) A2 molecules. More specifically, they are involved in the presentation of antigenic peptides to specific T lymphocytes and recognized by public and private T cell receptors.

Membrane proteins are heavily involved in a variety of cellular processes such as signal transduction, membrane translocation, cell adhesion, and many more, and therefore are of great interest within the field of drug design. The structure of relevant membrane proteins is sometimes mimicked during research using detergent micelles, which are capable of entrapping and extracting

Results of a compassionate-use study released in Stem Cells Translational Medicine show promising results for treating muscular dystrophies with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from Wharton’s jelly (WJ), a substance found in the umbilical cord. Led by doctors at Klara Medical Center (KMC), Czestochowa, Poland, these WJ-MSC treatments resulted in significant improvement in several body

A research collaboration based in Kumamoto University, Japan has discovered that muscles and the resident stem cells (satellite cells) responsible for muscle regeneration retain memory of their location in the body. This positional memory was found to be based on the expression pattern of the homeobox (Hox) gene cluster, which is responsible for shaping the

WEHI has partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading research-driven pharmaceutical company, in a collaboration to discover and develop anti-cancer therapeutics using a promising new technology called targeted protein degradation. The partnership builds on more than 25 years of pioneering discoveries at WEHI, into a family of proteins known as the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs)

The cells of simple organisms, such as bacteria, as well as human cells are surrounded by a membrane, which fulfills various tasks including protecting the cell from stress. In a joint project, teams from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Forschungszentrum Jülich, with participation of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), have now discovered that a

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered a new mechanism that activates specific genes, leading to the development of cancers. They showed that a mutation that fuses two unrelated genes can promote a process similar to that observed when oil and water are

Alzheimer's disease is predominant in elderly people, but the way age-related changes to lipid composition affect the regulation of biological processes is still not well understood. Links between lipid imbalance and disease have been established, in which lipid changes increase the formation of amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. This imbalance inspired researchers from

People aren’t the only ones who should be social distancing — new research shows our cells need to as well. Researchers from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA, used in-culture techniques to confirm severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission via cell-to-cell contact. While the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor is the entry

Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, showed that the antibody treatment reactivates the immune defense in patients with advanced-stage cancer. The treatment alters the function of the body's phagocytes and facilitates extensive activation of the immune system. The immune defense is the body's own defense system equipped to combat cancer. However, cancer learns to

It might seem like a given that mothers take extra risks to protect their children, but have you ever wondered why? A new study led by Kumi Kuroda at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan shows that in mice, this and other nurturing behaviors are driven in part by neurons in a

A team of scientists from Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine have discovered a critical component for renewing the heart's molecular motor, which breaks down in heart failure. Approximately 6.2 million Americans have heart failure, an often fatal condition characterized by the heart's inability to pump enough blood and oxygen throughout the body. This

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was triggered by the uncontrolled spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A year and a half later, the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 viral load and infectiousness remains a matter of scientific debate. Now, a new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv* server aims to quantify

Creating the best conditions for cells to make energy and survive critical illness is a challenge little understood in modern medicine. Now a new study led by scientists at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with University College London and the Universities of Cambridge and Southampton, shows early signs that cells in some critically ill