News tagged with cell surface

Origin of aggressive ovarian cancer discovered

Cornell University researchers have discovered a likely origin of epithelial ovarian cancer (ovarian carcinoma), the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.

Cancer created Mar 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Epidermal growth factor aids stem cell regeneration after radiation damage

Epidermal growth factor has been found to speed the recovery of blood-making stem cells after exposure to radiation, according to Duke Medicine researchers. The finding could open new options for treating cancer patients ...

Medical research created Feb 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Gold nanoparticles show new way to kill lymphoma without chemotherapy

How do you annihilate lymphoma without using any drugs? Starve it to death by depriving it of what appears to be a favorite food: HDL cholesterol.

Cancer created Jan 21, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Study identifies adhesion molecules key to cancer's spread through the body

Although tumor metastasis causes about 90 percent of cancer deaths, the exact mechanism that allows cancer cells to spread from one part of the body to another is not well understood. One key question is ...

Cancer created Oct 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Breast stem-cell research: Receptor teamwork is required and a new pathway may be involved

Breast-cancer researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that two related receptors in a robust signaling pathway must work together as a team to maintain normal activity in mammary stem cells.

Cancer created May 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists create molecular map to guide treatment of multiple sclerosis

A team of scientists from the Scripps Research Institute, collaborating with members of the drug discovery company Receptos, has created the first high-resolution virtual image of cellular structures called ...

Medical research created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Unusual alliances enable movement

Some unusual alliances are necessary for you to wiggle your fingers, researchers report.

Genetics created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Metastasis stem cells in the blood of breast cancer patients discovered

Individual cancer cells that break away from the original tumor and circulate through the blood stream are considered responsible for the development of metastases. These dreaded secondary tumors are the ...

Cancer created Apr 22, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cellular gatekeepers do more than open doors for drugs, study finds

(Medical Xpress)—The cellular gatekeepers that escort the most common pharmaceuticals into our cells continue to work within the cells as well, according to a UC San Francisco discovery that could transform drug design ...

Medical research created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify first potentially effective therapy for human prion disease

Human diseases caused by misfolded proteins known as prions are some of most rare yet terrifying on the planet—incurable with disturbing symptoms that include dementia, personality shifts, hallucinations ...

Medical research created Apr 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Researchers see more realistic tumor growth and response to anti-cancer drugs using polymer scaffolds   

(Medical Xpress)—Porous polymer scaffolds fabricated to support the growth of biological tissue for implantation may hold the potential to greatly accelerate the development of cancer therapeutics.

Cancer created Apr 02, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers design small molecule to disrupt cancer-causing protein

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida have developed a small molecule that inhibits STAT3, a protein that causes cancer. This development could impact the treatment of several ...

Cancer created Mar 26, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How the immune system positions its gatekeepers

(Medical Xpress)—For an immune response to get underway, an invading microbe must first be halted in the spleen, and then digested by immune cells known as 'dendritic cells', which guard specific portals. ...

Immunology created Mar 19, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Evolution in the antibody factory: How immune cells are able to advance their own evolution

Immune system B cells play a crucial role in the defence of pathogens; when they detect such an intruder, they produce antibodies that help to combat the enemy. They concurrently and continuously improve ...

Immunology created Mar 11, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gene discovery reveals importance of eating your greens

(Medical Xpress)—Eating your greens may be even more important that previously thought, with the discovery that an immune cell population essential for intestinal health could be controlled by leafy greens ...

Immunology created Mar 04, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Receptor (biochemistry)

In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or cytoplasm of a cell, to which a mobile signaling (or "signal") molecule may attach. A molecule which binds to a receptor is called a "ligand," and may be a peptide (such as a neurotransmitter), a hormone, a pharmaceutical drug, or a toxin, and when such binding occurs, the receptor undergoes a conformational change which ordinarily initiates a cellular response. However, some ligands merely block receptors without inducing any response (e.g. antagonists). Ligand-induced changes in receptors result in physiological changes which constitute the biological activity of the ligands.

For more information about Receptor (biochemistry), read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: cells , immune response , cancer cells , protein