Discovery of how colorectal cancer drug works will help more patients

Some colorectal cancer patients with a certain gene mutation benefit from a chemotherapy drug called cetuximab, although the mechanism of how this drug worked was unknown. Scientists have combined computational biology with experimental investigations to discover, for the first time, the mechanism for why these patients respond to cetuximab, which will help doctors identify more effective, targeted treatment plans for people diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

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Cellular senescence is associated with age-related blood clots

Cells that become senescent irrevocably stop dividing under stress, spewing out a mix of inflammatory proteins that lead to chronic inflammation as more and more of the cells accumulate over time. Researchers have identified 44 specific senescence-associated proteins that are involved in blood clotting, marking the first time that cellular senescence has been associated with age-related blood clots.

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Hook-on drugs: New delivery strategy for K-Ras disruption

Scientists have succeeded in designing a compound to hook onto the pocket of the enzyme FTase and GGTase I, thereby inhibiting K-Ras. Scientists have worked to concoct an effective drug to target K-Ras proteins which cause cancer when they mutate. It is difficult to infiltrate K-Ras due to a lack of interactive pockets, so a strategy was devised to attack the necessary enzyme in the lipid modification of K-Ras.

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Pathway found for treatment-resistant lung cancer

A big way chemotherapy works is by prompting cancer cells to commit suicide, and scientists have found a pathway the most common lung cancer walks to avoid death. Scientists have found a first step appears to be lung cancer cells expressing high levels of the molecule TIMP-1, classically considered a tumor inhibitor but at high levels already associated with a poor prognosis for patients.

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How fungal biofilm structure impacts lung disease

Findings from an innovative new study reveal that the way in which human fungal pathogens form colonies can significantly impact their ability to cause disease. Understanding how these colonies form could lead to new therapies that target these infections in critically ill patients.

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Discovery of novel cancer signaling mechanism and design of new anticancer compound

Active mutations of a certain signaling receptor protein called KIT tyrosine kinase are found in several cancers, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the different locations in the AML cells where KIT induces cancer-specific signaling remain unclear. Now, a group of scientists has aimed to answer this question by using a newly synthesized compound (along with other existing ones) that targets intracellular transport, which may offer an attractive strategy to combat cancer.

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Compound extends survival in mice with certain pediatric brain tumors

Versions of an antibiotic drug called DON first isolated from soil bacteria more than 60 years ago have shown promising signs of extending survival in mice models of especially lethal pediatric brain tumors marked by the high expression of a cancer-causing gene known as the MYC oncogene.

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