Messenger RNA (mRNA) News and Research

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Study identifies abnormal brain gene expression patterns in autism

A study led by Eric Courchesne, PhD, director of the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has, for the first time, identified in young autism patients genetic mechanisms involved in abnormal early brain development and overgrowth that occurs in the disorder. The findings suggest novel genetic and molecular targets that could lead to discoveries of new prevention strategies and treatment for the disorder.

23 Mar 2012

Advances in Neuroimmune Biology explores maternal-fetal interactions

Fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages, and pregnancy complications can occur when maternal immunological tolerance of the fetus is impaired. G-rard Chaouat and colleagues from Inserm et Assistance Publique et Universit- Paris Sud Orsay, Hopital Antoine B-cl-re, Clamart Cedex, France, trace the evolution of the science of reproductive immunology to show how the current understanding of maternal-fetal tolerance/dialogue has developed, and its implications for the treatment of infertility disorders

22 Mar 2012

FTY720 improves locomotor recovery in mice with SCI

A new study suggests that administering FTY720, an oral drug that has shown promise in trials for human multiple sclerosis, significantly improves locomotor recovery in mice with spinal cord injury.

13 Mar 2012

New, freely available Web-based program helps predict effect of mutations on mRNA splicing

In a brief paper in the journal Bioinformatics, Brown University researchers describe a new, freely available Web-based program called Spliceman for predicting whether genetic mutations are likely to disrupt the splicing of messenger RNA, potentially leading to disease.

6 Mar 2012

Study examines mRNA transcripts in the sperm of fruitflies and humans

It had long been assumed that the human sperm cell's mission in life ended once it had transferred its freight of parental DNA to the egg. More recently however, other components of sperm have been implicated in fertilization, and perhaps even in subsequent embryonic development.

1 Mar 2012

HDAC2 enzyme could be a potential target for new Alzheimer's drugs

MIT neuroscientists have shown that an enzyme overproduced in the brains of Alzheimer's patients creates a blockade that shuts off genes necessary to form new memories. Furthermore, by inhibiting that enzyme in mice, the researchers were able to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms.

1 Mar 2012

New RNA interference method holds promise for cancer, other diseases

For the past decade, scientists have been pursuing cancer treatments based on RNA interference - a phenomenon that offers a way to shut off malfunctioning genes with short snippets of RNA. However, one huge challenge remains: finding a way to efficiently deliver the RNA.

27 Feb 2012

Elevated levels of two TLRs can trigger heart disease and diabetes

UC Davis scientists have uncovered a key suspect in the destructive inflammation that underlies heart disease and diabetes. The new research shows elevated levels of a receptor present on leucocytes of the innate immune response in people at risk for these chronic diseases.

23 Feb 2012

Synthetic Oct4 protein more effective at turning genes into pluripotent stem cells

Scientists have found a way to generate and maintain stem cells much more efficiently by amplifying the effect of an essential protein.

17 Feb 2012

mRNA sequencing reveals transcriptomic landscape of breast cancer

GW Cancer Research Team in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, published a study that is the first of its kind to use mRNA sequencing to look at the expression of genome, at a unprecedented resolution at the current time, in three types of breast cancer.

15 Feb 2012

Epigenetic mechanisms maintain tolerance in T cells specific for self antigens

At the most basic level, the immune system must distinguish self from non-self, that is, it must discriminate between the molecular signatures of invading pathogens (non-self antigens) and cellular constituents that usually pose no risk to health (self-antigens).

14 Feb 2012

Scientists test new 'therapeutic vaccine' against HIV on volunteers

Scientists from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital and Antwerp University have tested a new 'therapeutic vaccine' against HIV on volunteers. The participants were so to say vaccinated with their own cells.

13 Feb 2012

New cERD method can detect RNAi activity in biological fluids

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that its scientists have discovered a novel method for monitoring RNAi activity in blood samples, representing a potential major advance for future development of RNAi therapeutics, other therapeutic modalities, and diagnostics.

10 Feb 2012

Researchers discover function and expression of CD97 in malignant gliomas

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center's VCU Massey Cancer Center and Harold F. Young Neurosurgical Center and Old Dominion University have discovered that suppression of Wilms tumor 1 protein (WT1) results in downregulation of CD97 gene expression in three glioblastoma cell lines and reduces the characteristic invasiveness exhibited by glial tumor cells.

8 Feb 2012

Study describes molecular pathway that controls rest and activity rhythms

The molecular pathway that carries time-of-day signals from the body's internal clock to ultimately guide daily behavior is like a black box, says Amita Sehgal, PhD, the John Herr Musser Professor of Neuroscience and Co-Director, Comprehensive Neuroscience Center, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

8 Feb 2012

Scientists discover new mechanisms by which RNA drugs can control gene activity

Small RNA-based nucleic acid drugs represent a promising new class of therapeutic agents for silencing abnormal or overactive disease-causing genes, and researchers have discovered new mechanisms by which RNA drugs can control gene activity.

3 Feb 2012

Chronic inflammation combines with DNA methylation to promote development of colorectal cancer

Chronic inflammation combines with DNA methylation, a process that shuts down cancer-fighting genes, to promote development of colorectal cancer, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report today in the advance online publication of the journal Nature Medicine.

23 Jan 2012

Defect in neuronal RNA splicing process may contribute to neurological disease

A Jackson Laboratory research team led by Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Susan Ackerman, Ph.D., has discovered a defect in the RNA splicing process in neurons that may contribute to neurological disease.

20 Jan 2012

NimbleGen Sequence Capture 385K array identifies gene mutations linked with hereditary hearing loss

Hereditary hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in humans. A German research team led by Ingo Kurth from the Institute of Human Genetics at the University Hospital Jena, Germany, used a number of different methods, including Roche's NimbleGen Custom Sequence Capture 385K array to identify the gene mutated in the disease locus of the X-chromosome of a Spanish family with hereditary hearing loss.

13 Jan 2012

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation names 18 new Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 18 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.

11 Jan 2012