Category Health/Medical

Engineer Jeffrey Rimer and collaborators have discovered a new molecule that has the potential to be a more effective inhibitor of kidney stone formation. Credit: University of Houston

A natural fruit extract is capable of dissolving calcium oxalate crystals, the most common component of human kidney stones. This finding could lead to the first advance in the treatment of calcium oxalate stones in 30 years. The work offers the first evidence that the compound hydroxycitrate (HCA) is an effective inhibitor of calcium oxalate crystal growth that, under certain conditions, is actually able to dissolve these crystals. The findings are the result of a combination of experimental studies, computational studies and human studies.

Kidney stones are small, hard mineral deposits that form inside the...

Stromal Hh activation attenuates colonic tumour development.

Many types of cancer are caused by gene mutations in the signalling pathways that control cell growth, such as the hedgehog signalling pathway. A new study from the Karolinska Institutet now surprisingly shows that in colon cancer hedgehog signalling has a protective function. Mutations that lead to the activation of hedgehog signalling are the cause of almost all cases of basal cell carcinoma, BCC (a common form of skin cancer) and certain types of brain tumours.

Previous studies have indicated that hedgehog signalling is also important in other types of cancer, such as colon cancer – one of the commonest types of cancer in Sweden...

This is a model of the structure of clathrin, a protein that researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio used to study how a heat shock protein disassembles protein complexes. Credit: Drs. Eileen Lafer and Rui Sousa/UT Health Science Center at San Antonio

Heat shock proteins ram into other proteins, generating force that is beneficial. Studies at The University of Texas Health Science Center are providing basic new understanding about “heat shock proteins,” also called “chaperone proteins.” These proteins, first identified in cells subjected to heat, are very important under many stressful and non-stressful metabolic conditions. They maintain proper protein function and, importantly, prevent the inappropriate accumulation of damaged proteins...

TFC cells express CXCR5 to localize to B cell follicles.

New research has taken us a step closer to finding a cure for HIV, as well as other infections including the glandular fever virus, which is associated with the development of lymphoma. Some infections, such as HIV, cannot be cured with antiviral therapy because the virus effectively hides from the immune system.

An international team of scientists have discovered that killer T cells can find these “hidden” infected cells in tissue and destroy them. “We’ve shown for the first time that there are specialised killer T cells that can migrate into a part of the lymphoid tissue and control hidden infection,” Dr Yu said.

Although treatments for HIV with antiretroviral drugs are highly effective, treatment is lifelong and there is no cure...