http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has shown for the first time how cancer cells control the ON/OFF switch of a program used by developing embryos to effectively metastasize in vivo, breaking free and spreading to other parts of the body, where they can proliferate and grow into secondary tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-debate-tumors.html Cancer Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:04:20 EST news273413046 Epithelial cells are homebodies – they like to attach to things and becoming detached initiates a form of cell suicide known as anoikis (literally "homeless" in Latin). But in order for cancer cells to metastasize they have to leave their homes and to survive while traveling they must resist anoikis – like a third-grader at sleep-away camp. Cancer cells do this by taking a page from the neuron playbook. Neurons are by nature unbound – they grow and link to each other and not to a substrate. Neurons have a protein called TrkB that allows them to survive anoikis; healthy epithelial cells don't have TrkB and so are susceptible to anoikis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-microrna-triple-negative-breast-cancer-homesick.html Cancer Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:59:43 EST news272739573 It has long been known that breast density, or mammographic density, is a strong risk factor for breast cancer, and that estrogen and progestin hormone therapy increases dense breast tissue. Now, a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research has identified several gene variants in hormone metabolism and growth factor pathways that may be associated with breast density and, hence, breast cancer risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-gene-polymorphisms-responsible-breast-density.html Cancer Wed, 24 Oct 2012 02:40:00 EST news270264952 When it comes to germ-busting power, the eyes have it, according to a discovery by University of California, Berkeley, researchers that could lead to new, inexpensive antimicrobial drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-small-proteins-cornea-bacterial-infection.html Medical research Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:00:07 EST news267702876 Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have made a breakthrough in understanding a class of cells that help wounds in skin and other epithelial tissues heal, uncovering a molecular mechanism that pushes the body into wound-repair mode. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-scientists-important-molecular-trigger-wound-healing.html Immunology Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:00:08 EST news264333140 Long-term use of commonly used blood pressure medications that increase sensitivity to sunlight is associated with an increased risk of lip cancer in non-Hispanic whites, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that appears in the current online issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-long-term-blood-pressure-meds-sun.html Cancer Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:21:16 EST news263488869 University of Kentucky researchers, led by Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, have made an exciting finding in the "dry" form of age-related macular degeneration known as geographic atrophy (GA). GA is an untreatable condition that causes blindness in millions of individuals due to death of retinal pigmented epithelial cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-major-breakthrough-macular-degeneration.html Medical research Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:00:01 EST news263483334 (Phys.org) -- A team of researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., has found radiation from protons could further enhance a process that occurs during tumor progression. This information may help lead to better methods to protect astronauts from the harmful effects of radiation in space, as well as help cancer researchers on Earth better understand the effects of radiation treatment on the human body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-proton-effects-cells.html Cancer Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:14:51 EST news263394880 (Medical Xpress) -- Could ovulation be the link to ovarian cancer? Joanna Burdette of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy thinks it might be, and she's working to find out. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-ovarian-cancer-linked-ovulation.html Cancer Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:11:03 EST news262365057 Human defensins, aptly named antimicrobial peptides, are made in immune system cells and epithelial cells (such as skin cells and cells that line the gut). One of these peptides, human neutrophil peptide 1, under certain circumstances hinders HIV infection, but exactly how it works remains unclear. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-conditions-peptide-blocks-hiv-infection.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:23:53 EST news262362225 Heartburn makes for an uncomfortable post-meal experience, but can also herald more serious health concerns. Indeed, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a causative factor underlying Barrett’s metaplasia, a condition associated with changes in the epithelial cells lining the esophagus that can ultimately lead to esophageal carcinoma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-primitive-cell-populations-retained-early.html Cancer Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:40:01 EST news260612853 Scientists have found a master regulator gene needed for the development of M cells, a mysterious type of intestinal cell involved in initiating immune responses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-gene-conveyor-belt-cells-oral.html Immunology Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:00:02 EST news259148658 Angiogenesis is considered to be a major target of new cancer treatments. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is one of the key regulators of angiogenesis. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, have now discovered that Ang-2 even has a dual effect on angiogenesis: Firstly, it affects the sprouting of new capillaries and, secondly, it impacts the maturation of the newly formed vessels. Therapies targeting Ang-2 might therefore attack angiogenesis from two angles at once. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-dual-effect-tumor-blood-vessels.html Cancer Thu, 31 May 2012 10:46:55 EST news257679979 Early colonization of the gut by microbes in infants is critical for development of their intestinal tract and in immune development. A new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, shows that differences in bacterial colonization of formula-fed and breast-fed babies leads to changes in the infant's expression of genes involved in the immune system, and in defense against pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-breastfeeding-healthy-infant-gut.html Medical research Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:10:01 EST news254971282 University of Kentucky researchers, led by Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, have made a major breakthrough in the "dry" form of age-related macular degeneration known as geographic atrophy (GA). GA is an untreatable condition that causes blindness in millions of individuals due to death of retinal pigmented epithelial cells. The paper, "DICER1 loss and Alu RNA Induce Age-Related Macular Degeneration via the NLRP3 Inflammasome and MyD88," was published in the April 26 online edition of the premier journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-major-breakthrough-macular-degeneration.html Medical research Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:46:04 EST news254663104 Researchers have taken a critical step in understanding how allergic reactions occur after identifying a genetic signature for regulation of a key immune hormone, interleukin (IL-13). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-allergic-diseases.html Immunology Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:10:01 EST news252149755 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Biologist Lee Ligon has found a previously unknown connection between breast cancer tumor cells and the surrounding healthy tissue. The results provide new information on the earliest stages of breast cancer metastasis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-biologists-uncover-breast-cancer-cells.html Cancer Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:41:40 EST news250951294 Few people know about the participation of Brazil in Word War I. Although Brazil remained neutral during most of the conflict, it eventually sent a fleet to support the war effort against the central powers. It was the only Latin-American country to do so. But the Brazilian expedition encountered an unexpected and treacherous enemy in the African coast against which -like all other Armies- it was not prepared for: the Spanish flu. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brazilian-navy-worst-enemy-wwi.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:57:31 EST news250948644 Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected. What's more, they showed that inflammation enhances cancer progression in part by facilitating a cellular transformation that leads to entry of cancer cells into the circulation. They report their findings this week in Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-metastasis-pancreatic-cancer-action.html Cancer Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:49:52 EST news246199703 Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is an incurable disease in which the delicate gas exchange region of the lung fills with scar tissue, which interferes with breathing. Now researchers at Duke University Medical Center have discovered that commonly held ideas about the origins of the scar-forming (fibrotic) cells were incorrect. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-insights-cells-irreversibly-scar-lungs.html Medical research Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:40:01 EST news241964003 Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that taking a probiotic before radiation therapy can protect the intestine from damage — at least in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-probiotic-intestine-injury.html Medical research Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:20:01 EST news240674706 The gastrointestinal tract is lined with intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) that maintain gut health by keeping bacteria and pro-inflammatory immune cells from infiltrating gut tissues. Now, a team of researchers in Japan has shown that a protein in these cells, which is responsible for sorting many proteins to particular portions of the IEC surface, plays a key role in IEC modulation of gut inflammation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-gastrointestinal-inflammation-protein-factor-cells.html Medical research Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:45:22 EST news237807864 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at National Jewish Health have identified cells and signaling molecules that trigger the repair of injured lungs. Stijn De Langhe, PhD, and his colleagues report October 10, 2011, online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, that destruction of lung tissue in mice induces smooth muscle cells surrounding the airways to secrete a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10), which induces surviving epithelial cells in the airways to revert to a stem-cell state, proliferate, repair and repopulate the lining of the lungs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-stem-cells-pathways-lung.html Medical research Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:49:02 EST news237534514 A protein that regulates cell differentiation in normal tissue may play a different role in colon and breast cancer, activating proliferation of damaged cells, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-knockout-protein-colon-tumor-formation.html Cancer Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:53:58 EST news236534025 The indication that vitamin D and its derivatives have a protective effect against various types of cancer is not new. In the field of colon cancer, numerous experimental and epidemiological studies show that vitamin D3 (or cholecalciferol) and some of its derivatives inhibit the growth of cancerous cells. Researchers at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), in collaboration with the Alberto Sols Institute of Biomedical Research (CSIC-UAB), have confirmed the pivotal role of vitamin D, specifically its receptor (VDR), in slowing down the action of a key protein in the carcinogenic transformation process of colon cancer cells. These results are being published in the journal PLoS One. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-vitamin-d-agent-advance-colon.html Cancer Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:17:00 EST news232705003 Whitehead Institute researchers have identified signals from breast epithelial cells that can induce those cells to transition to and maintain a mesenchymal and stem cell-like cell state that imbues both normal and cancer cells with a greater ability to migrate and self-renew. Interrupting these signals strips the cells of the migratory, invasive and self-renewal abilities used by cancer stem cells to seed new tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-pathways-vulnerability-breast-cancer-stem.html Medical research Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:14:15 EST news226844025 Salmonella is widely prevalent in the animal kingdom. The reason we do not suffer from severe intestinal infections very often is due to our body's defence system, which manages to digest invading bacteria. This is why, generally speaking, a healthy human being will only fall ill if he consumes more than 100.000 salmonella bacteria via a contaminated food source, such as eggs or meat. An international team of researchers, led by Prof. Ivan Dikic from the Goethe University in Frankfurt has now found out how body cells recognise salmonella and render it harmless. Understanding this process at a molecular level is crucial in identifying new targets for treatment. Tropical and sub-tropical countries in particular, where various sub-species of salmonella are common, are experiencing a rapid increase in resistance to antibiotics, with children at greatest risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-intestinal-cell-defense-mechanism-bacteria.html Medical research Fri, 27 May 2011 10:28:10 EST news225710864 A protein isolated from beneficial bacteria found in yogurt and dairy products could offer a new, oral therapeutic option for inflammatory bowel disorders (IBD), suggests a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researcher Fang Yan, M.D., Ph.D. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-protein-probiotic-bacteria-alleviate-inflammatory.html Medical research Mon, 23 May 2011 12:24:53 EST news225372267 (Medical Xpress) -- The gut may need bacteria to provide a little bit of oxidative stress to stay healthy, new research suggests. Probiotic bacteria promote healing of the intestinal lining in mice by inducing the production of reactive oxygen species, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-beneficial-bacteria-intestinal-injury-reactive.html Medical research Tue, 10 May 2011 15:07:00 EST news224258764 A team of researchers has identified a cellular protein that acts as a receptor for Ebola virus and Marburg virus. Furthermore, the team showed that an antibody, which binds to the receptor protein, is able to block infection by both viruses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-team-receptor-ebola-virus.html Medical research Mon, 02 May 2011 15:00:08 EST news223567060