Molecular mechanisms of cancer and cancer therapy
In light of the study showing that bacteria with a particular form of the protein DnaK can interfere with a cell’s response to DNA damage and the ability to repair such damage, I have been thinking about what kinds of cancers may have a bacterial cause or contribution. The one that the researchers studied to … Read more
In a study of infection by bacteria of the mycoplasma family, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have discovered that the bacterial protein DnaK triggers a cascade of events that can cause infected cells and nearby uninfected cells to become cancerous. DnaK is a prokaryotic stress-induced protein (Figure 1) that is a … Read more
A type of immunotherapy uses antibodies that activate the TNF receptor family member CD40 on immune cells. CD40 is present on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of the immune system and is activated by surface-bound proteins called CD40L. Activation of CD40 on APCs stimulates these cells to take up and display antigens to T and B cells, … Read more
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer with most patients surviving much less than one year from diagnosis. This was certainly the experience that my family had—diagnosis was made at the end of January and the patient died in April. For patients with metastatic disease, combination therapy with conventional chemotherapeutic agents, which … Read more
Some anti-aging supplements include compounds, like nicotinamide riboside, that increase nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD: oxidized NAD+ and reduced NADH) and stilbenoid compounds, like resveratrol or pterostilbene, that are anti-oxidants and regulators of protein function. The findings that resveratrol inhibited human platelet aggregation and prevented cancer cell proliferation in culture and cancer in mice created excitement … Read more