Leading the way in novel anti-cancer research
...n epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor and the vascular targeting agent ZD6126....biology inhibition of Aurora kinases : The Aurora kinase family is important in regulating mitosis and cell division. Because these kinases are only expresse...Bayer and Onyx announce new data on dual mechanism of action of BAY 43-9006
...he first compound that is known to target both Raf kinase and VEGFR2 to inhibit two essential mechanisms involved in tumor growth. Raf kinase is a key enzyme in an important growth signaling pathway associated with the proliferation of tumor ...Anthrax toxin inhibitor identified
...n to attack a family of protein kinases called map kinase kinases (MEKKs), which mediate many cellular responses, including cytokine release and cell survival. The availability of drug inhibitors may facilitate the understanding of the effect of lethal factor on these pathways. Protease inhibitor drugs have...Other highlights in the January 7 issue of JNCI
...of imatinib--a selective inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase activities of c-Kit and PDGFR--on the growth of neuroblastoma cells in culture and in a mouse model. They found that neuroblastoma cell lines treated with imatinib displayed concentration-dependent decreases in cell viability. Neuroblastoma tumor-b...UCSD researchers describe cell activity leading to disruption of neuron migration
...work in both humans and mice to identify a protein kinase called Cdk5 as the "off" switch for a crucial neuronal migration protein called doublecortin. When Cdk5 adds a phosphate molecule to doublecortin, the doublecortin is inactivated and neuronal migration is arrested. In the normal brain, neurons are ...Study examines why new lung cancer treatment is effective for some patients but not others
...d to target and block the activity of the tyrosine kinase enzyme that signals the epidermal growth factor re...de expression and over-expression of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, much like one used to measure HER2 neu for breast cancer patients. "We saw a wide r...Mechanism leading to life-threatening infection identified by UCSD School of Medicine researchers
...ure research with mouse cells identifies a protein kinase called PKR that causes the death of macrophages, t...ath signal. One of these was the dsRNA responsive kinase PKR. In subsequent experiments in mice bred with and without PKR, the team found that those without...Odorants enhance survival of olfactory neurons
...aper suggests that drugs that activate the Erk/MAP kinase pathway may be used to protect olfactory sensory neurons from cell death associated with sinusitis, head injury, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases," explains Dr. Storm. William C. Watt, Hitomi Sakano, Zong-Yi Lee, Jane E. Reusch, Kien Trinh and D...New hereditary gene linked to Parkinson's disease
...ted families. The mutations in PINK1 (PTEN-induced kinase 1) leads to a dysfunction of the protein, which in turn reduces the ability of brain cells to protect themselves from stress. Although likely to be found in only a small percentage of Parkinson sufferers, the discovery of this gene has revealed a co...Longevity gene may also predict better outcome for breast cancer patients
...ia patients, work by zeroing in and inactivating a kinase molecule. Such targeted therapies are designed to kill cancer cells while avoiding serious damage to other, non-cancerous cells. The scientists discovered the protein's role in cancer while studying how normal cells can turn cancerous. They s...Researchers identify leukemia-linked pathway targeted by a new kinase inhibitor
...t of a new class of drugs known as "small molecule kinase inhibitors," medicine slammed shut a door used by ...he Jackson Laboratory just found another door that kinase inhibitors may close to cancer. The gene BCR-ABL1 causes two types of leukemia: chronic myelogeneous...Solvent, common drug plus hormones raise risk of reproductive failures and breast cancers
...ivates an enzyme (called mitogen-activated protein kinase or MAP kinase), one of its primary jobs being to accelerate the rate of transcription. Thus, not only are the brakes removed from the transcription process, but the accelerator on transcription is firmly applied. The dual impact of both ...Iressa news backgrounder: Testing of smart drug expands at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
...as farnesyl transferase inhibitors (FTI), tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), signal transduction inhibitors (... Tantalizing benefit Iressa, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, came to the attention of M. D. Anderson researchers in the late 1990s when news of the fl...Presence of gene mutation tightly linked to drug effectiveness in lung cancer
...), a gene that codes for an enzyme in the tyrosine kinase family of proteins. Tyrosine kinases are a class ... gene mutations identified in this study cause the kinase to be overactive. The sensitivity to gefitinib in both patients entered into a clinical trial and t...Gene mutations predict which lung cancers will respond to Iressa
...ions affecting the same area (the ATP cleft of the kinase domain) of the receptor protein in eight of nine patients that had responded to Iressa, but no EGFR mutations were seen in tumors from seven patients who did not respond. In addition, many of the patients whose tumors responded to Iressa were of a su...Rising young psychiatry researchers receive prestigious international award
...ions in acute mania and the effects of the protein kinase C inhibiting drug, tamoxifen, on them. "Receiving this award will enable me to continue my collaborations with research institutions and allow me to attend key Neuroscience meetings," comments Dr Yildiz. "I hope to use my expertise in psychiatry to...Novel vitamin discovery offers clues for cancer chemotherapy and lipid disorders
...a search for the yeast equivalent of the bacterial kinase enzyme that is required to begin turning it into N... nutrient for certain metabolic disorders and that kinase screening may benefit certain cancer patients. Niacin, for example, can help lower cholesterol, but...Tumor suppressor gene family may be key to new colon cancer drugs
...d Herceptin, which block proteins made by tyrosine kinase genes. Last May, Velculescu's team systematically ...ds of colon cancers have mutations in the tyrosine kinase and phosphatase families, as well as another kinase gene Velculescu's group identified recently. Ty...Lithium may protect neurons from radiation therapy
...ein that causes apoptosis called glycogen synthase kinase 3 b. Studies suggest that it may protect neurons from a variety of cytotoxic insults, including observations that the incidence of Alzheimer's disease which leads to progressive and profound memory loss is lower among patients who take lithium for ...Nerve navigation findings prompt new direction for spinal cord research
...ey have found that an enzyme called focal adhesion kinase tells the arm-like extension of a neuron to cross ...ble lost to spinal cord injuries. "This kinase plays a role in helping direct axon movement across the spinal cord during development," Dr. Xiong s...