Type 2 diabetes affects more than 500 million people worldwide. In a new study, researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in the United States found a new pathway that stimulates insulin production in the preclinical diabetes model for healthy pancreas β cell growth. This discovery brings hope for future treatment, which will improve the life of patients with type 2 diabetes. The relevant research results have recently been published in…
PLSCR1 Is a Cellular Autonomous Defense Factor That Resists SARS-Cov-2 Infection
Earlier this month, multiple health departments confirmed that BA.2.86- a highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19- poses a risk of rapid transmission in countries around the world. This week, the latest vaccination plan will be launched across the United States, but it remains to be seen whether this latest vaccination plan will effectively slow down the spread of BA.2.86 or other new virus variants. However, vaccines remain the…
Discovering New Protein Families and Folds Using Artificial Intelligence Tools
In a new study, researchers from the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and the University of Basel have discovered a treasure trove of uncharacterized proteins. In the recent deep learning revolution, they have discovered hundreds of new protein families and even a new predictive protein fold. The relevant research results were published online in the journal Nature, with the title “Uncovering new families and folds in the natural protein universe”. …
DCC May Help Identify Human Parkinson’s Disease
At present, the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is mainly based on clinical standards, but the sensitivity of clinical standards is often limited before most dopaminergic neurons are lost. Recently, in a research report published in Nature Aging titled “DOPA decarboxylase is an emerging biomarker for Parkinsonian disorders including preclinical Lewy body disease”, scientists from institutions such as the Caroline College in Sweden found through research that, the levels of the…
The Three-Dimensional Structure of Type A GABA Receptors in Natural State
In a new study, researchers from the University of Health and Science of Oregon in the United States revealed the molecular structure of a receptor crucial for brain development and function – the Type A GABA receptor. The relevant research results were published online in Nature titled “Cryo-EM structures reveal native GABAA receptor assemblies and pharmacology”. The A-type GABA receptor has become a target for drug anesthetics, sedatives, and antidepressants…
Virus ADP Ribotransferase Couples RNA with Host Protein
Prior to this, people had always believed that RNA and protein only interacted briefly during cellular processes. In a new study, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Land Microbiology in Germany found that this is not the case: bacterial viruses, also known as bacteriophages, “bind” specific RNA to host proteins during the developmental cycle. This chemical modification, called RNAylation, may open up new avenues for phage therapy or drug…
Synaxin-6 Promotes the Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Activating the USF2/LC3B Axis
Hepatocellular carcinoma accounts for over 80% of all primary liver cancers and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The five-year survival rate of hepatocellular carcinoma is only 18%, and the mortality rate is second only to pancreatic cancer. Despite recent progress in radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery, current treatment for liver cancer cannot effectively improve the prognosis of patients. In addition, the characteristic of proliferative hepatocellular carcinoma is…
ACSS2 – A Promising New Anticancer Target
A recent study published in Nature Cancer shows that intervening in the metabolism of acetic acid by cancer cells through ACSS2 is not only an effective approach, but also an unexpected gain! The research team of the Wistar Institute in the United States found that inhibiting ACSS2 in cancer cells can transform cancer cells from consumers of acetic acid to producers, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), mainly composed of T…
In Situ PEG Modification of CAR-T Cells Can Alleviate Cytokine Release Syndrome and Neurotoxicity
In recent years, cancer researchers have cheered the arrival of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which has achieved encouraging results and changed the treatment methods of various cancers. CAR-T cell therapy targets cancer cells through genetically modified patients’ T cells, thereby achieving a significant cure rate for previously incurable cancers. Currently, six CAR-T cell therapies have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and several…
Scientists have found 32 proteins related to dementia in the blood of middle-aged people based on 25 years of data!
Genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have shown that its biological process is very complex and not limited to the accumulation of β Amyloid protein (Aβ）and tau protein. Systemic factors and biological processes outside the central nervous system may also affect the risk of dementia and AD. Proteins, as systemic circulating factors, may be driving factors for complex central nervous system diseases, and researchers have been searching for…