Latest CD44 Stories

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center have identified a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets and directly kills chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. The findings, published in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 25, 2013 represent a potential new therapy for treating at least some patients with CLL, the most common type of blood cancer in the United States. CLL cells express high levels...

Cell surface protein blows potent cells' cover; targeted drug works in preclinical tests Breast cancer stem cells wear a cell surface protein that is part nametag and part bull's eye, identifying them as potent tumor-generating cells and flagging their vulnerability to a drug, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online in Journal of Clinical Investigation. "We've discovered a single marker for breast cancer stem cells and also found that it's...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) "“ Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) affects about 100,000 people in the U.S. each year and is fatal within three years of diagnosis. An invasive cell that leads to lung fibrosis may be stopped by cutting off its supply of sugar, according to this study.IPF has only one therapy in the U. S.: lung transplantation. Duke researchers have found a possible new treatment by identifying a cell surface receptor on the invasive cells called myofibroblasts and an enzyme that...

Potential new drug target for hard-to-treat 'triple-negative' tumorsScientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified an overactive network of growth-spurring genes that drive stem-like breast cancer cells enriched in triple-negative breast tumors, a typically aggressive cancer that is highly resistant to current therapies.Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD, a breast cancer geneticist at Dana-Farber, and colleagues found that a large proportion of cells within these tumors showed elevated...

A newly discovered hybrid gene appears to play a direct role in some stomach cancers, according to an international team of scientists led by researchers at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore.The hybrid gene is a fusion of two separate genes, and is one of the first described in gastric cancer, which is the most lethal malignancy worldwide after lung cancer. The disease kills an estimated 740,000 people a year, including nearly 11,000 annually in the United States.The gene discovery...

UT MD Anderson preclinical research boosts case for new drug approachA small slice of RNA inhibits prostate cancer metastasis by suppressing a surface protein commonly found on prostate cancer stem cells. A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported today in an advance online publication at Nature Medicine."Our findings are the first to profile a microRNA expression pattern in prostate cancer stem cells and also establish a strong...

SINGAPORE, July 25 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Scientists from Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong have found that gamma-tocotrienol is potent in killing prostate cancer stem cells. This small group of cells is responsible for the initiation of prostate cancer and is resistant to conventional chemotherapy drugs. It causes relapses in the cancer by producing new chemo-resistant cancer cells. Gamma-tocotrienol is a member of the Vitamin E family and is derived naturally from palm oil. This...

New understanding of CD44 receptor's role in immune cell survivalInvestigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have discovered a new way the cell surface protein, CD44, helps specific T helper (Th1) cells develop immunologic memory. Linda Bradley, Ph.D., Bas Baaten, Ph.D., and colleagues determined that without CD44, Th1 cells died off during their initial immune response and were unable to generate immunologic memory. This is the first time scientists have...

Mouse studies reveal new -- and better -- picture of stem cells that may fuel some breast cancersWorking with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins publishing in the December issue of Neoplasia have shown that a protein made by a gene called "Twist" may be the proverbial red flag that can accurately distinguish stem cells that drive aggressive, metastatic breast cancer from other breast cancer cells.Building on recent work suggesting that it is a relatively rare subgroup of stem cells...

Patients who survive an initial diagnosis of breast cancer often succumb to the disease years later when the cancer shows up in a different part of the body. Now, scientists have identified key signals that support the long term survival of breast cancer cells after they have spread to the bone marrow. The research, published by Cell Press in the July issue of the journal Cancer Cell, may lead to development of treatment strategies that decrease the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence in...