Latest Integral membrane proteins Stories

A combination approach for arresting and reversing amyloid plaque buildup in the brain has proven effective in studies of transgenic mice with this feature of Alzheimer's disease, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a recent issue of The Journal of Neuroscience."There are many ways to delay the appearance of amyloid plaques in mice, but now with a combination approach we can actually remove plaques that had formed prior to treatment," said Dr. Joanna Jankowsky,...

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Molecular Devices, Inc. and ChanTest Corporation, leading providers of ion channel and GPCR drug discovery tools and solutions, have signed an agreement for Molecular Devices to distribute ChanTest's extensive portfolio of ion channel and GPCR cell lines on a non-exclusive basis. As part of the agreement, Molecular Devices, Inc. will sell ChanTest's ion channel and GPCR cell lines and promote ChanTest's cell optimization services to its...

Cells, which employ a process called autophagy to clean up and reuse protein debris leftover from biological processes, were the original recyclers. A team of scientists from Paul Greengard's Rockefeller University laboratory have linked a molecule that stimulates autophagy with the reduction of one of Alzheimer's disease's major hallmarks, amyloid peptide. Their finding suggests a mechanism that could be used to eliminate built-up proteins in diseases such as Alzheimer's, Down syndrome,...

Researchers in California and Germany demonstrate light-activated receptors on nerve cellsAll our daily activities, from driving to work to solving a crossword puzzle, depend on signals carried along the body's vast network of neurons. Propagation of these signals is, in turn, dependent on myriad small molecules within nerve cells -- receptors, ion channels, and transmitters -- turning on and off in complex cascades. Until recently, the study of these molecules in real time has not been...

Critical aspect of cell signaling described today at Biophysical Society Meeting in BaltimoreNew findings from researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto may shed light on the mechanisms that regulate the organization of receptors on the cell surface, a critical aspect of cell signaling not well understood at this time.The group reports on their use of the macrophage protein CD36, a clustering-responsive class B scavenger receptor, as a model...

Research by University of Warwick's School of Life Sciences has opened up a new path to produce water efficient seeds that will be a significant tool to help create drought resistance, and ensure global food security.  The research not only provides the best map to date of the key protein that appears to be the principal gateway for water intake during seed germination - it also actually provides the right map as it appears much of the research to date was focussed on a much less relevant...

Scientists at IRB Barcelona resolve a three-dimensional structure required for the function of some vital cell transporters which communicate cells with the external environment.This finding will contribute to understanding some of the functional disruptions caused by human diseases.Researchers at IRB Barcelona have completed the 3D structural sequence adopted by several essential proteins in the exchange of substances between the extra and intracellular milieu. This finding provides a global...

Max Planck study raises hopes for the development of effective therapies Amyloid-beta and tau protein deposits in the brain are characteristic features of Alzheimer disease. The effect on the hippocampus, the area of the brain that plays a central role in learning and memory, is particularly severe. However, it appears that the toxic effect of tau protein is largely eliminated when the corresponding tau gene is switched off. Researchers from the Max Planck Research Unit for Structural...

Berkeley Lab Reports New Fluorescent Assay Reveals TREK1 MechanismBy Lynn Yarris, Berkeley LabUsing a unique and relatively simple cell-based fluorescent assay they developed, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley have identified a means by which fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, suppresses the activity of the TREK1 potassium channel. TREK1 activity has been...

Finding could lead to novel drugs that prevent or slow the diseaseLike two unruly boys who need to be split up in class, a pair of protein molecules work together to speed up the toxic events of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio today announced the discovery of the second molecule and said its identification could lead to drugs that disrupt the interaction, and thereby block or slow Alzheimer's onset or progression.Alzheimer's disease is an...