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Category: biotech/medical – Page 145

Cancer cells get power boost by stealing mitochondria from nerves

Cancer cells turbocharge themselves by stealing the energy-producing units from neurons in tumours, scientists report today in Nature 1. This act of thievery seems to give cancer cells a boost to help them survive when they metastasize, or spread to distant organs.

The findings show that cancer cells siphon off neurons’ mitochondria — organelles that generate most of a cell’s energy — through ultrathin tubes that grow between the two types of cell. The purloined mitochondria increase cancer cells’ ability to withstand the stress of shooting through blood vessels during metastasis.

“Now we have a new culprit for metastasis, which means we have a new target to block metastasis,” says study co-author Simon Grelet, a cancer neurobiologist at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. “And metastasis is what make cancers so deadly.”

The theft probably helps the cells to spread around the body, and preventing it could provide a path to treatment, researchers say.

Blood Test #4 in 2025: 17y Younger Biological Age

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Endothelial cell metabolism in cardiovascular physiology and disease

In this Review, the authors describe the metabolic programmes that control endothelial cell function in the cardiovascular system, discuss the role of endothelial cell metabolism in different cardiovascular diseases, and highlight the therapeutic potential and challenges of targeting endothelial cell metabolism to treat cardiovascular diseases.

Calorie restriction mimetics against aging and inflammation

Geroprotectors, a class of compounds that ameliorate molecular, cellular, or physiological aging-related alterations, have garnered significant attention in the quest to promote healthy aging and extend the human health span. Among these, Calorie Restriction Mimetics (CRMs) have emerged as promising candidates due to their potential to mimic the benefits of calorie restriction, a dietary approach involving reduced calorie intake without malnutrition. Prospective CRMs may include biguanides (metformin and aminoguanidine), which exert effects on the insulin signaling pathway; rapamycin, which interacts with mTOR signaling pathways; and stilbenes (resveratrol), which influences stress signaling pathways and promotes the activation of AMPK, impacting mitochondrial metabolism in addition to the activity of FOXO and sirtuin.

Researchers uncover novel mechanism for regulating ribosome biogenesis during brain development

Ribosomes are tiny molecular machines inside all living cells that build proteins, and ribosome biogenesis is the complex, multi-step process by which they are made. During brain development, neural stem cell proliferation relies on active ribosome biogenesis to meet high protein demand. This process involves the concerted action of numerous ribosomal RNA processing factors and assembly proteins. Studies have shown that precise regulation of ribosome biogenesis is essential for normal brain development and tumor prevention.

Gene therapy delivery device could allow for personalized nanomedicines on-demand

A new gene therapy delivery device could let hospital pharmacies make personalized nanomedicines to order. This democratized approach to precision medicine, as published in Frontiers in Science, could revolutionize how hospitals treat rare diseases, even in low-resource settings.

Rare diseases affect millions worldwide, yet the one-size-fits-all model of drug development leaves patients with few treatment options. Now a European research project called NANOSPRESSO aims to tip the balance in patients’ favor by boosting access to low-cost bespoke gene and RNA therapies.

The prototype NANOSPRESSO device combines two proven technologies— and lipid nanoparticles—into a portable manufacturing unit. Hospital pharmacists could use the unit to prepare sterile, injectable nanomedicines tailored to the specific genetic abnormality causing the patient’s condition, bypassing the need for centralized drug production.

Antibiotics and energy inhibitors effectively kill aggressive melanoma cells by blocking mitochondrial pathways

Researchers have discovered that the most aggressive melanomas, the deadliest form of skin cancer, overactivate two key processes in mitochondria, the components of cells that provide energy. Blocking these pathways with currently available drugs effectively killed melanoma cells.

The findings are published in Cancer.

By mapping the proteins expressed in 151 tumor and normal skin samples, investigators found that the most aggressive melanomas hyper-activate the machinery that builds and the mitochondrial system that turns nutrients into energy.

Scientists reveal how diverse cell types are produced in developing embryos

A team of scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that controls how genes are switched “on” and “off” during embryonic development. Their study sheds light on how diverse cell types are produced in developing embryos.

The research, published in Developmental Cell, was led by Dr. Irène Amblard and Dr. Vicki Metzis from the Development and Transcriptional Control group, in collaboration with LMS facilities and the Chromatin and Development and Computational Regulatory Genomics groups.

All cells contain the same DNA but must turn ‘“on” and “off”—a process known as gene expression—to create different body parts. The cells in your eyes and arms harbor the same genes but “express” them differently to become each body part.

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