News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...sis. Protection specifically required apoE and was blocked either by receptor-associate protein, which competes with ligands of low-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLrs), or by inhibition of the apoE receptor LDLr-related protein (LRP). Downstream of LRP, signaling involved protein kinase C, possibly by pho...New player in commitment to life as a fat cell
... Treatments that inhibited XOR activity in cells blocked fat formation and PPAR-gamma activity, the researchers reported. Likewise, increased XOR levels hiked activity of the PPAR-gamma receptor in both fat cells and fat cell precursors. Mice lacking XOR showed a 50% reduction in fat tissue mass compared t...Sea creature's toxin could lead to promising cancer treatment
...western researchers found that while diazonamide A blocked cell division, it seemed not to bind directly to tubulin. Instead, Dr. Xiaodong Wang, professor of biochemistry, and Dr. Gelin Wang, instructor of biochemistry, found that the toxin interacted with an enzyme called OAT, which was known to be involved...New role in asthma for old drug
...ctivate the allergic Th2 cell response. Second, it blocked the DCs becoming activated enough to stimulate an allergic Th2 cell response. This study therefore indicates that targeting DCs in the lungs can suppress allergic asthma in mice and might lead to studies determining whether such targeting by iloprost...JCI table of contents: Feb. 1, 2007
...ctivate the allergic Th2 cell response. Second, it blocked the DCs becoming activated enough to stimulate an allergic Th2 cell response. This study therefore indicates that targeting DCs in the lungs can suppress allergic asthma in mice and might lead to studies determining whether such targeting by iloprost...Sentry enzyme blocks two paths to Parkinson's disease
...g these cells. In addition, when the investigators blocked GST pi production in the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra, about one-quarter of them died, even though they were not treated with MPTP. "This suggests that even in the absence of MPTP the enzyme GST pi plays a critical role in preventing ...NIH study finds MRI more sensitive than CT in diagnosing most common form of acute stroke
... in some stroke victims by quick re-opening of the blocked blood vessel," said Dr. Koroshetz. The researchers conducted the study to determine whether MRI was superior to CT for emergency diagnosis of acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke (caused by bleeding into the brain). Standard CT uses X-rays which ...Drug strategy makes cancer genes get lost in translation
...complex to do its job. That interference, in turn, blocked the formation of proteins that require assistance from initiation factors. "Surprisingly, this compound does not inhibit binding of [the tumor suppressor] 4E-BP1 to eIF4E and instead causes a significant apparent increase in the amount of this prot...Be afraid, be very afraid, if you learned to
... another group of rats, the researchers chemically blocked activity in the prelimbic cortex, which is located near the front of the brain and close to the midline between the two hemispheres. These rats spent only 14 percent of the time freezing to the sound of the tone. Yet the rats' innate, or natural, fe...Brown team finds crucial protein role in deadly prion spread
..., they do so at a much slower rate. So a drug that blocked the activity of Hsp104 could seriously slow progression of prion-related diseases....Queen's discovery provides new hope for people with advanced breast cancer
...ere able to design a completely new peptide, which blocked SNCG's interaction with another protein, counteracting the resistance to cancer drugs. "We were excited to find that it actually can reduce anti-cancer drug resistance by three-and-a-half times," says Dr. Jia, Canada Research Chair in Structural Biol...Researchers warn milk eliminates cardiovascular health benefits of tea
...dilation of blood vessels. But, again, adding milk blocked the effect. The findings, by cardiologists and scientists from the Charit Hospital, Universittsmedizin-Berlin, Campus Mitte, Germany, are bad news for tea-drinking nations like the British, who normally add milk to their beverage. The results have l...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
... was already elevated. In vivo , a CB1 antagonist blocked the seizure-induced DSI potentiation, the associated upregulation of CB1 receptors, and diminished long-term hippocampal excitability....Treatments for urinary infections leave bacteria bald, happy and vulnerable
...to learn which regions of the protein needed to be blocked off by a pharmaceutical to prevent the chaperone from doing its job. To synthesize an appropriate drug, Hultgren has been collaborating with chemists including Fredrik Almqvist, Ph.D., associate professor of bioorganic chemistry at Ume University in...Sniffers show that humans can track scents, and that two nostrils are better than one
...thors found that while volunteers with one nostril blocked could still track a scent - in this experiment, essence of chocolate - volunteers with two open nostrils tracked a scent quicker and with fewer deviations from the trail. "We were asking the question, 'Are two nostrils better than one"'" said lead au...Antibody extends life of mice with breast cancer
...ile the antibody did not kill the cancer cells, it blocked stages of cancer-cell growth that allow the cells to adhere to organ tissue, the research showed. Results of the research appeared in the November 2006 issue of the journal Neoplasia. Mice with breast-cancer tumors that received the antibody had a ...Cocaine high caused by interference in neuronal receiving stations
...d a kinase, and the cocaine-induced D2R attachment blocked this event. Wang and his colleagues found that this interaction between D2R and NR2B occurred specifically in the striatum of the brainthe region known to be responsible for cocaine's stimulating effects. The researchers also analyzed whether this...STAR*D study examines effect of genetic variation in treatment resistant depression
...e knocked down genes involved with neurogenesis or blocked neurogenesis directly in rodents, which eliminated the animals' ability to respond to anti-depressants. This supports the hypothesis that neurogenesis is involved in the response to antidepressant treatment in humans. McMahon and colleagues studied ...Research yields new insights into the cause of diabetes
...earchers demonstrated that the lack of this enzyme blocked the proliferation of beta cells, hampered the normal functioning of beta cells, and also kept beta cells from clustering into islets. "What happens during fetal development predisposes people either to be able to maintain glucose levels normally or ......es even when we block all GABA signaling. When we blocked GABA, synchrony was perfectly fine. Instead, the oscillations got bigger. Herzog likens VIP to the Pony Express rider telling all the SCN cells to synchronize their ; GABA, he says, is like the marshal that prevents he cells from being too active. ...