Category Health/Medical

A ring of six proteins known as a helicase surrounds the DNA strands at a special location known as origin DNA. Each of the six proteins is in distinct color, with origin DNA in the center. Credit: Xiaojiang Chen, USC

Recipe for Replication: 2 DNA strands, 1 ring of proteins. Melt. For years, scientists have puzzled over what prompts the intertwined dsDNA to open its 2 strands and then start replication. Knowing this could be the key to understanding how organisms, from healthy cells to cancerous tumors replicate and multiply for their survival. A group of USC scientists believe they have solved the mystery. Replication is prompted by a ring of proteins that bond with the DNA at a location called “origin DNA...

An example of a small, superficial BCC lesion that might be treated with imiquimod. Credit: Journal of Investigative Dermatology

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of human cancer. With a growing aging population, BCC rates are climbing at an alarming rate, with reported cases rising by as much as 10% per year. A new study examines the effectiveness of imiquimod, a topical skin cream used to treat low-risk BCC lesions, over a five-year period. Imiquimod success rates were sustained for the extended study period and did not promote lesion reoccurrence.

Currently, the gold standard of treatment for BCC is excisional or Mohs surgery, both of which require a dermatologist or plastic surgeon...

UCH-L3

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have identified an enzyme called UCHL3 that regulates the BRCA2 pathway, which is important for DNA repair. Results of this research are published online in Genes & Development. “DNA repair is a fundamental mechanism to prevent the accumulation of mutations in DNA and human disease,” says Zhenkun Lou, Ph.D., a molecular pharmacologist at Mayo Clinic.

“The BRCA2 pathway is important for DNA repair, and mutation of the BRCA2 gene is linked to increased cancer risk, especially breast cancer and ovarian cancer.” Dr. Lou says UCHL3 is highly expressed in some cancers, and mutated or deleted in other cancers. Cancer cells with high UCHL3 expression are resistant to chemotherapy; whereas, cancer cells with low UCHL3 are more sensitive to chemotherapy...

The vaccine targets tau proteins (pictured under the microscope) which form tangles in the brain, blocking supplies of vital nutrients to cells, which then die. This triggers the memory loss associated with the disease

In an unprecedented study, active vaccination in humans has resulted in a favorable immune response in 29 out of the 30 patients with only minor side effects. So far, many of the antibody drugs proposed to treat Alzheimer’s disease target only the amyloid plaques. Despite the latest clinical trial that is hailed as our best chance in the quest for treating AD, all later phase trials have failed with many causing severe side effects in the patients, such as abnormal accumulation of fluid and inflammation in the brain...