Category Health/Medical

GATA4 functions as a key switch in the senescence regulatory network to activate the SASP. The nonsenescent state is maintained by inhibitory barriers that prevent cell cycle arrest and inflammation. Upon senescence-inducing signals, ATM and ATR relieve inhibition of the p53 and p16INK4a pathways to induce growth arrest and also block p62-dependent autophagic degradation of GATA4, resulting in NF-κB activation and SASP induction.

A team of researchers from Harvard Medical School and Buck Institute for Research on Aging has conducted a study that has revealed that GATA4 (a transcription factor) plays a significant role in cell senescence.

Cell senescence is a state that cells enter as they age or react to damage or other problems—once in this state they no longer progress through the cel...

Intracellular tumour necrosis factor receptor-2 (TNFR2) signalling. Binding of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) to TNFR2 results in activation and recruitment of intracellular adaptor proteins that induce signal transduction promoting cell proliferation and survival via phosphorylation of endothelial/epithelial nonreceptor tyrosine kinase (Etkp40), which in turn transactivates vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2p1054–1059), leading to phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt/PKB pathway.

This discovery could lead to new treatment options for the 65% of individuals with IBD who do not respond or become resistant to anti-TNF medications...

Dr. Turner’s lab team, most of who are shown here, were instrumental in the research relating to the health benefits of dried plums. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo)

A diet containing dried plums can positively affect microbiota, also referred to as gut bacteria, throughout the colon, helping reduce the risk of colon cancer, researchers report. According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. when men and women are considered separately, and the second-leading cause when the figures are combined. During 2015, colon cancer is expected to cause about 49,700 deaths nationwide.

“Our research explored the potential cancer-protective properties of dried plums using a well-established rat model of colon cancer,” she sai...

“This has dramatic potential to advance genetic engineering,” said Eric Lander, Director of the Broad Institute and one of the principal leaders of the human genome project. “The paper not only reveals the function of a previously uncharacterized CRISPR system, but also shows that Cpf1 can be harnessed for human genome editing and has remarkable and powerful features. The Cpf1 system represents a new generation of genome editing technology.”

In the new study, Zhang et al searched through hundreds of CRISPR systems in different types of bacteria, searching for enzymes with useful properties that could be engineered for use in human cells...