New approaches for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases

T cells with a regulatory function within the immune system respond differently to apoptosis triggers than T cells that mount the actual defense reaction (effector T cells). This has now been shown for the first time in investigations with human T cells conducted by Dr. Benedikt Fritzsching jointly with colleagues of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and other collaborators of Heidelberg University. The findings may provide new approaches for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases.

By inhibiting the effect of other lymphocytes, regulatory T cells control how strong a defense reaction is. In mice, a surplus of effector T cells leads to autoimmune diseases, while a surplus of regulatory T cells promotes cancer development: The regulatory T cells suppress the effector T cells and prevent the body’s fight against a tumor. “The regulatory cells build a real firewall around the cancer cells.

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“Not all genes code for proteins–some make RNA molecules called microRNAs”

Regulating when and where certain proteins are made is crucial to the normal functioning of living things. To make proteins, information from DNA is transcribed into RNA molecules and then translated into the amino acids building blocks of proteins. But not all genes code for proteins–some make RNA molecules called microRNAs. These small RNA molecules interfere with–and therefore control–the production of proteins. A new paper in PLoS Computational Biology shows how important microRNAs are in the biology of diverse organisms.

Matching up microRNAs with the genes they regulate is a daunting task in any organism, considering that many microRNAs have multiple target genes and that even a fruit fly (Drosophila) has up to 14,000 genes that microRNAs could influence.

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Technique uses double-stranded DNA to direct the behavior of other molecules

A new method for manipulating macromolecules has been developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The technique uses double-stranded DNA to direct the behavior of other molecules.

In previous DNA nanotechnology efforts, duplex DNA has been used as a static lattice to construct geometrical objects in three dimensions. Instead of manipulating DNA alone into such shapes, the researchers are using DNA to control the folding and resulting structure of RNA. Eventually, they envision building supramolecular machines whose inner workings are governed by twisted strands of DNA.

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Generic-drug makers brace for battle with pharmaceuticals

Big war begins.The battle lines between the Western-based transnational pharmaceutical industry and companies in the developing world that produce generic drugs have grown sharper this month, with anti-AIDS drugs being at the heart of this dispute.

Among the catalysts in such a turn of events include Cipla, an Indian pharmaceutical company, and the government of Brazil, both of which are adamant on challenging the stance of the pharmaceutical industry that it decides who should produce anti-AIDS drugs and at what price they should be sold.

Significant in the Cipla challenge, which came to light on 6 February, is the price at which it is prepared to sell large quantities of the triple-therapy cocktail of anti-AIDS generic drugs to African countries. The amount ranges from USD 350 per year if the drug combination is sold to patients to USD 600 per year if the same combination is sold to African governments. (more…)