cancer therapies tagged posts

Wen Zhou et al. Structure of the Human cGAS–DNA Complex Reveals Enhanced Control of Immune Surveillance. Cell, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.026

Scientists have defined the structure and key features of a human immune-surveillance protein that guards against cancer and bacterial and viral infections. The identification of two human-specific variations in the protein closes a critical knowledge gap in immunology and cancer biology.

The human body is built for survival. Each one of its cells is closely guarded by a set of immune proteins armed with nearly foolproof radars that detect foreign or damaged DNA...

Representative high-magnification photomicrographs of H&E-stained sections of abdominal skin tumor specimens from DOX-treated ikGPCR+;Becn2+/+ and ikGPCR+;Becn2+/− mice. (Scale bars, 10 μm.)

Building upon earlier research, UT Southwestern Medical Center and their collaborators have identified a new innate immunity pathway that protects mammals from viral oncogenesis, the process by which viruses cause normal cells to become cancerous. Given the prevalence of virus-related cancers in humans, the discovery is significant – and could eventually contribute to development of new cancer therapies.

“More than 20% of human cancers – as well as a number of other diseases – are linked to chronic viral infections,” said Dr. Xiaonan Dong.
This study revealed that the autophagy-related protein becli...