Instead of a dreaded injection with a needle, someday getting vaccinated against disease may be as pleasant as drinking a yogurt smoothie.
A researcher from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has developed a new oral vaccine using probiotics, the healthy bacteria that are found in dairy products like yogurt and cheese. He has successfully used the approach in a preclinical study to create immunity to anthrax exposure. He also is using the method to develop a breast cancer vaccine and vaccines for various infectious diseases.
This new generation vaccine has big benefits beyond eliminating the "Ouch!" factor. Delivering the vaccine to the gut -- rather than injecting it into a muscle -- harnesses the full power of the body's primary immune force, which is located in the small intestine.
"This is potentially a great advance in the way we give vaccines to people," said Mansour Mohamadzadeh, the lead author and an associate professor of medicine in gastroenterology at the Feinberg School.
"You swallow the vaccine, and the bacteria colonize your intestine and start to produce the vaccine in your gut," Mohamadzadeh said. "Then it's quickly dispatched throughout your body. If you can activate the immune system in your gut, you get a much more powerful immune response than by injecting it. The pathogenic bacteria will be eliminated faster."
Most vaccines consist of protein and won't maintain their effectiveness after being digested by the stomach. However, the lactobacillus protects the vacThe Northwestern study was reported in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
There are other advantages to the new oral vaccine. Probiotics, which are natural immune stimulators, eliminate the need for a chemical in traditional vaccines that inflames the immune system and triggers a local immune response. The chemical, called an adjuant, may cause side effects such as dizziness, arm swelling and vomiting. Probiotic vaccines also are inexpensive to produce.
The specially engineered vaccine gives more immune bang for the buck than an injected one because it induces a local and a systemic immune response. The vaccine targets the first line of gut immune cells called dendritic cells -- the commanders-in-chiefs of the immune system. They engulf the vaccine then instruct the immune system's foot soldiers -- killer T-cells and B-cells -- to seek out and destroy any cells in the body infected with a particular bacterium or virus.
In the study, Mohamadzadeh fed mice the new oral anthrax vaccine, and then exposed them to anthrax bacteria. Eighty percent of the mice survived, which is comparable to the results when mice were injected with anthrax vaccine, he said.
"Their immune response was higher and more robust than with the injected vaccine," Mohamadzadeh said. The mice generated a much higher T and B immunity against the pathogenic bacteria.
Mohamadzadeh's vaccine technology can be applied to many other diseases. He is developing an oral vaccine for breast cancer using probiotics. The vaccine would use the Her2/neu breast cancer antigen, a protein highly produced by breast tumor cells, and train the immune system to destroy any cells producing Her2/neu, he said.
In addition, Mohamadzadeh has developed a "multi-tasking" cancer vaccine against breast, colon and pancreatic cancer that soon will be tested in mouse models.
The technology also can be used to develop a probiotic vaccine for HIV, hepatitis C and the flu, he said.
Terrence Barrrett, M.D., chief and professor of gastroenterology at the Feinberg School, said delivering a vaccine to the gut is the most logical route.
"Nature isn't used to seeing antigens injected into a muscle," said Barrett, who also is a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "The place where your immune system is designed to encounter and mount a defense against antigens is your gut."
Notes:
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the North Carolina Dairy Foundation.cine until it is in the small intestine.
Source:
Marla Paul
Northwestern University
суббота, 29 октября 2011 г.
суббота, 22 октября 2011 г.
Scientists Locate First Common Bowel Cancer Gene, UK
Cancer Research UK funded scientists have for the first time identified a common genetic variant that can increase a person's risk of developing bowel cancer. Their findings appear in two papers published online in Nature Genetics 1,2 last Sunday.
Several genes are already known to contribute to bowel cancer risk. However, these are extremely rare among the population - only around one person in every 2,500 carries any of the known bowel cancer genes and they account for less than five per cent of bowel cancer cases arising annually. Around 35,000 new cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year and it is estimated that genetic risk contributes to around a third of cases of the disease.
Reporting their findings in two separate papers, research teams based in Edinburgh and London studied the genetic make-up in a total of over 30,000 people in a hunt for the genes that make up the rest of this risk. Around half of the participants were bowel cancer patients and half were healthy people.
Each team carried out a 'whole genome search' and pinpointed a gene that is faulty more often amongst bowel cancer patients than in people without the disease. They narrowed down the gene's location within the genome to a region called 8q24. Scientists recently found that men who have the same genetic variant are at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
Around half of the general population carry the genetic variant, which results in a 20 per cent increased risk of developing bowel cancer. Lifetime risk of the disease rises from around one in 20 for people who do not carry a faulty copy of the gene to one in 16 for people who do. The evidence in these papers indicates that around one in 10 bowel cancers diagnosed in the UK are linked to this genetic fault - equating to around 3,500 cases each year.
Because the increased risk incurred by this genetic fault is relatively small, it would not be suitable for genetic testing at this stage. But it may be possible to design a test for a combination of genes as more 'low risk' variants are found. Identifying people who have an increased risk of developing bowel cancer will improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease in the future.
In the first study, Professor Malcolm Dunlop, from the University of Edinburgh and the Medical Research Council's Human Genetics Unit, and an international team of researchers compared the DNA of around 8,000 bowel cancer patients from North America, France and Scotland, to that of around 8,000 healthy people.
Professor Dunlop said: "Scanning the entire genome of large numbers of people has enabled us to identify the first common genetic variant that increases bowel cancer risk. We are now using an even more refined "genome-wide scan" to discover yet more genes linked to bowel cancer risk.
"Understanding all the genes involved is a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle in the dark. First we have to feel around for the genes involved and only then will we be able to find out how they all fit together to contribute to increased risk. By identifying these genetic variants, we will be in a better position to understand how such changes can lead to cancer."
The second study was jointly led by Professor Ian Tomlinson from Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and Professor Richard Houlston from The Institute of Cancer Research. They examined the DNA of a similar number of patients and healthy people from England.
Professor Tomlinson said: "This is an important first step but we still have a long way to go before we have a complete picture of all the genes that are involved in inherited bowel cancer risk. Eventually it may be possible for scientists to design treatments to prevent people at increased risk of the disease from developing bowel cancer altogether."
Both teams used a multi-stepped approach to find the region of the genome that was linked to bowel cancer risk. They studied thousands of 'tags' - distinct blocks of DNA that act as signposts for genes - in hundreds of people. The tags which were more common among the bowel cancer patients than the healthy people were then reassessed in new, larger groups of patients and healthy people.
After repeating this process many times the researchers whittled down the tags to just one - 8q24. This painstaking work led researchers to a still to be identified gene within this part of the genome that is responsible for the increased risk of bowel cancer among the patients they studied.
Cancer Research UK is launching similar genome wide studies for lung and ovarian cancer and scientists hope to find out more about the genes linked to these cancers as a result.
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, which has instigated this series of genome-wide studies for common cancers, said: "This is an extremely important discovery which will significantly improve our understanding of the biology of bowel cancer and what causes it. In the future we hope studies like this across a range of cancers will help people at increased risk of the developing the disease through the development of tailored screening and treatment programmes."
1. "A colorectal cancer susceptibility locus on chromosome 8q24 identified by a genome wide association scan." Brent W. Zanke, et al. (2007) Nature Genetics. Working with Canadian collaborators on a "whole genome scan" to identify genes that might contribute to bowel cancer risk, the research group in Edinburgh narrowed the search down and pinpointed one genetic region on the long arm of chromosome 8 (8q24) where a common variation is associated with bowel cancer risk. This study was supported by Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, the Scottish Executive Chief Scientist's Office and CORE.
2. "A genome-wide association scan of tag SNPs identifies a novel susceptibility variant for colorectal cancer at 8q24.21." Ian Tomlinson et al. (2007) Nature Genetics. The London team and collaborators also undertook a genome scan of their own. Among several potential locations of new bowel cancer genes, the strongest evidence independently pointed to 8q24. This study was supported by Cancer Research UK, the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, CORE, the European Union, the Thomas Falknor Fund and Leukaemia Research.
The technology used in these studies was provided by Illumina.
Bowel cancer
Every year in the UK, around 35,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer. It is the third most common cancer after breast and lung and the disease causes almost 16,100 deaths in the UK every year. Around two-thirds of cases are in the large bowel (colon) and the remaining third are in the back passage (rectum). The occurrence of bowel cancer is strongly related to age, with over 80 per cent of cases arising in people who are 60 years of older.
Inherited risk
One factor that can increase risk of developing bowel cancer is an inherited faulty gene (genetic mutation). An inherited genetic mutation may mean that several people on the same side of a family develop bowel cancer. This is called a 'strong family history'. There are a number of known genetic conditions linked to bowel cancer, including familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC).
A strong family history usually means several relatives have been diagnosed with bowel cancer on the same side of the family. It can also mean there are one or more relatives diagnosed at a particularly young age. People who are concerned they may have a strong family risk should talk to their GP. The doctor may refer them to a genetics clinic for specialist advice about their risk, screening and the availability of genetic testing.
Bowel cancer screening
Screening means looking for early signs of a particular disease in 'healthy' people who don't have symptoms. Results from large scale Government pilot studies published in 2003 suggested that a national bowel screening of the normal population would help save lives. The Government is now phasing in a national screening programme across the country.
Men and women aged between 60-69 years old are being offered a test every two years. The screening method used is called faecal occult blood testing (FOB). Faecal occult blood testing means looking for hidden (occult) blood in your stool (faeces). People can do the test themselves at home.
For more information about bowel cancer or screening visit our patient information website CancerHelp UK.
Cancer Research UK
-- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.
-- Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.
-- Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.
-- Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.
-- Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, visit cancerresearchuk/.
Several genes are already known to contribute to bowel cancer risk. However, these are extremely rare among the population - only around one person in every 2,500 carries any of the known bowel cancer genes and they account for less than five per cent of bowel cancer cases arising annually. Around 35,000 new cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year and it is estimated that genetic risk contributes to around a third of cases of the disease.
Reporting their findings in two separate papers, research teams based in Edinburgh and London studied the genetic make-up in a total of over 30,000 people in a hunt for the genes that make up the rest of this risk. Around half of the participants were bowel cancer patients and half were healthy people.
Each team carried out a 'whole genome search' and pinpointed a gene that is faulty more often amongst bowel cancer patients than in people without the disease. They narrowed down the gene's location within the genome to a region called 8q24. Scientists recently found that men who have the same genetic variant are at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
Around half of the general population carry the genetic variant, which results in a 20 per cent increased risk of developing bowel cancer. Lifetime risk of the disease rises from around one in 20 for people who do not carry a faulty copy of the gene to one in 16 for people who do. The evidence in these papers indicates that around one in 10 bowel cancers diagnosed in the UK are linked to this genetic fault - equating to around 3,500 cases each year.
Because the increased risk incurred by this genetic fault is relatively small, it would not be suitable for genetic testing at this stage. But it may be possible to design a test for a combination of genes as more 'low risk' variants are found. Identifying people who have an increased risk of developing bowel cancer will improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease in the future.
In the first study, Professor Malcolm Dunlop, from the University of Edinburgh and the Medical Research Council's Human Genetics Unit, and an international team of researchers compared the DNA of around 8,000 bowel cancer patients from North America, France and Scotland, to that of around 8,000 healthy people.
Professor Dunlop said: "Scanning the entire genome of large numbers of people has enabled us to identify the first common genetic variant that increases bowel cancer risk. We are now using an even more refined "genome-wide scan" to discover yet more genes linked to bowel cancer risk.
"Understanding all the genes involved is a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle in the dark. First we have to feel around for the genes involved and only then will we be able to find out how they all fit together to contribute to increased risk. By identifying these genetic variants, we will be in a better position to understand how such changes can lead to cancer."
The second study was jointly led by Professor Ian Tomlinson from Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and Professor Richard Houlston from The Institute of Cancer Research. They examined the DNA of a similar number of patients and healthy people from England.
Professor Tomlinson said: "This is an important first step but we still have a long way to go before we have a complete picture of all the genes that are involved in inherited bowel cancer risk. Eventually it may be possible for scientists to design treatments to prevent people at increased risk of the disease from developing bowel cancer altogether."
Both teams used a multi-stepped approach to find the region of the genome that was linked to bowel cancer risk. They studied thousands of 'tags' - distinct blocks of DNA that act as signposts for genes - in hundreds of people. The tags which were more common among the bowel cancer patients than the healthy people were then reassessed in new, larger groups of patients and healthy people.
After repeating this process many times the researchers whittled down the tags to just one - 8q24. This painstaking work led researchers to a still to be identified gene within this part of the genome that is responsible for the increased risk of bowel cancer among the patients they studied.
Cancer Research UK is launching similar genome wide studies for lung and ovarian cancer and scientists hope to find out more about the genes linked to these cancers as a result.
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, which has instigated this series of genome-wide studies for common cancers, said: "This is an extremely important discovery which will significantly improve our understanding of the biology of bowel cancer and what causes it. In the future we hope studies like this across a range of cancers will help people at increased risk of the developing the disease through the development of tailored screening and treatment programmes."
1. "A colorectal cancer susceptibility locus on chromosome 8q24 identified by a genome wide association scan." Brent W. Zanke, et al. (2007) Nature Genetics. Working with Canadian collaborators on a "whole genome scan" to identify genes that might contribute to bowel cancer risk, the research group in Edinburgh narrowed the search down and pinpointed one genetic region on the long arm of chromosome 8 (8q24) where a common variation is associated with bowel cancer risk. This study was supported by Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, the Scottish Executive Chief Scientist's Office and CORE.
2. "A genome-wide association scan of tag SNPs identifies a novel susceptibility variant for colorectal cancer at 8q24.21." Ian Tomlinson et al. (2007) Nature Genetics. The London team and collaborators also undertook a genome scan of their own. Among several potential locations of new bowel cancer genes, the strongest evidence independently pointed to 8q24. This study was supported by Cancer Research UK, the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, CORE, the European Union, the Thomas Falknor Fund and Leukaemia Research.
The technology used in these studies was provided by Illumina.
Bowel cancer
Every year in the UK, around 35,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer. It is the third most common cancer after breast and lung and the disease causes almost 16,100 deaths in the UK every year. Around two-thirds of cases are in the large bowel (colon) and the remaining third are in the back passage (rectum). The occurrence of bowel cancer is strongly related to age, with over 80 per cent of cases arising in people who are 60 years of older.
Inherited risk
One factor that can increase risk of developing bowel cancer is an inherited faulty gene (genetic mutation). An inherited genetic mutation may mean that several people on the same side of a family develop bowel cancer. This is called a 'strong family history'. There are a number of known genetic conditions linked to bowel cancer, including familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC).
A strong family history usually means several relatives have been diagnosed with bowel cancer on the same side of the family. It can also mean there are one or more relatives diagnosed at a particularly young age. People who are concerned they may have a strong family risk should talk to their GP. The doctor may refer them to a genetics clinic for specialist advice about their risk, screening and the availability of genetic testing.
Bowel cancer screening
Screening means looking for early signs of a particular disease in 'healthy' people who don't have symptoms. Results from large scale Government pilot studies published in 2003 suggested that a national bowel screening of the normal population would help save lives. The Government is now phasing in a national screening programme across the country.
Men and women aged between 60-69 years old are being offered a test every two years. The screening method used is called faecal occult blood testing (FOB). Faecal occult blood testing means looking for hidden (occult) blood in your stool (faeces). People can do the test themselves at home.
For more information about bowel cancer or screening visit our patient information website CancerHelp UK.
Cancer Research UK
-- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.
-- Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.
-- Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.
-- Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.
-- Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, visit cancerresearchuk/.
суббота, 15 октября 2011 г.
Keeping Food Safe From Farm To Table
Food safety problems can arise at any of multiple stages of food production, and illnesses that result from them are frequently not detected or reported, according to a new report from the American Academy of Microbiology.
The report, "Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to Table," is based on a colloquium convened by the Academy in 2009. Colloquium participants with expertise in microbiology, public health, food science, and economics reviewed the current state of affairs in microbiological food safety around the world.
The path from food production to consumption is increasingly complicated. Each plate of food may contain ingredients from many countries - each of which may have passed through different processing facilities, and may have been handled by wholesalers, retailers, and multiple transportation companies before finally reaching the consumer's shelf or refrigerator. No single agency regulates all of the steps in this process.
Each link in the food safety chain would benefit from further research and new technologies - specific examples of which are detailed in this report. Regulations that promote good agricultural and manufacturing practices would not only help decrease lapses in food safety, but would make it easier to trace problems back to their inception.
Consumer education is also an important component of food safety. Consumers are often unaware of safe food handling practices, especially as new food products are introduced. Because consumer-caused foodborne illnesses are often not recognized as such, much less systematically reported, an important barrier to reducing their incidence is inadequate knowledge of which foods, agents, and practices pose the greatest risk.
It is very difficult to know how many people are made sick by food, which foods are at fault, which pathogens are most widespread or dangerous, and where those pathogens entered the food production system. In such a situation, where should research, prevention and education efforts be directed? In this report, each step in our complicated food production and supply system is described, highlighting key points of vulnerability and making it clear that providing safe food is a shared responsibility.
Food safety is complex, and a perfectly safe food supply is an unrealistic goal. However, as this report explains, there are opportunities for improving food safety at each step of the production and consumption process and many areas where further research could help identify and quantify risks and generate solutions. The report also identifies food safety vulnerabilities that might be addressed through investments in new technologies or more effective education.
Source:
Jim Sliwa
American Society for Microbiology
The report, "Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to Table," is based on a colloquium convened by the Academy in 2009. Colloquium participants with expertise in microbiology, public health, food science, and economics reviewed the current state of affairs in microbiological food safety around the world.
The path from food production to consumption is increasingly complicated. Each plate of food may contain ingredients from many countries - each of which may have passed through different processing facilities, and may have been handled by wholesalers, retailers, and multiple transportation companies before finally reaching the consumer's shelf or refrigerator. No single agency regulates all of the steps in this process.
Each link in the food safety chain would benefit from further research and new technologies - specific examples of which are detailed in this report. Regulations that promote good agricultural and manufacturing practices would not only help decrease lapses in food safety, but would make it easier to trace problems back to their inception.
Consumer education is also an important component of food safety. Consumers are often unaware of safe food handling practices, especially as new food products are introduced. Because consumer-caused foodborne illnesses are often not recognized as such, much less systematically reported, an important barrier to reducing their incidence is inadequate knowledge of which foods, agents, and practices pose the greatest risk.
It is very difficult to know how many people are made sick by food, which foods are at fault, which pathogens are most widespread or dangerous, and where those pathogens entered the food production system. In such a situation, where should research, prevention and education efforts be directed? In this report, each step in our complicated food production and supply system is described, highlighting key points of vulnerability and making it clear that providing safe food is a shared responsibility.
Food safety is complex, and a perfectly safe food supply is an unrealistic goal. However, as this report explains, there are opportunities for improving food safety at each step of the production and consumption process and many areas where further research could help identify and quantify risks and generate solutions. The report also identifies food safety vulnerabilities that might be addressed through investments in new technologies or more effective education.
Source:
Jim Sliwa
American Society for Microbiology
суббота, 8 октября 2011 г.
First Detailed View Of Molecular Structure May Usher In New Class Of Cancer Drugs
High resolution views of a receptor molecule that is implicated in cancer offer a clear target for the development of a new class of cancer drugs, Yale School of Medicine researchers report July 27 in Cell.
It is also anticipated that the new family of drugs may be applied for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) cancers that are resistant to Gleevec and Sutent. Although these drugs would target the same receptors as Gleevec and Sutent, they would do so by a different mechanism and may therefore be useful for patients who are resistant to these drugs.
"I was surprised to see what the molecules did when they were activated," said Joseph Schlessinger, professor and chair of pharmacology and senior author of the study. "The arrangement is much simpler and more elegant than I thought."
The paper, accompanying images, and animation-which looks like a beautiful dance-provide the first detailed, atomic level view of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) Kit before and after it is activated. There are 59 RTK proteins in humans and they play critical roles in the control of a great variety of normal cellular processes as well as in several cancers.
Schlessinger said the newly-revealed mechanism for RTK activation is utilized by many RTKs. "Moreover, these structures offer unexpected new opportunities for drug discovery for the treatment of cancers and other diseases driven by activated RTKs," he said.
The finding is the result of many years of work involving protein expression, biochemical and biophysical studies and X-ray crystallography, a method used for viewing molecules at a resolution high enough to see atomic detail.
The receptor tyrosine kinase Kit and its natural ligand stem cell factor play an important role in normal blood cell production, gut function, pigmentation, and reproduction. Humans in whom this function is suppressed, or the function is lost, have what is known as a piebald trait-a wing-like discoloration on the chest and abdomen, a white forelock of hair, deafness, and constipation. Mice with the same mutation also have depigmentation and are often anemic and sterile. However, mutations in which the Kit function is activated are found in a variety of human cancers, among them gastro-intestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and several forms of leukemia.
The structural analysis clearly shows a conformational change as stem cell factor brings two Kit molecules together, resulting in a large rearrangement of and association between parts of the molecule. Schlessinger said the next step is to identify drugs that can form a wedge in the Kit molecule, making it impossible for them to join together and be activated.
Co-authors include Satoru Yuzawa, Yarden Opatowsky, Zhontang Zhang, Valsan Mandiyan, and Irit Lax.
Cell: (July 27, 2007)
yale.edu
View drug information on Gleevec; Sutent.
It is also anticipated that the new family of drugs may be applied for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) cancers that are resistant to Gleevec and Sutent. Although these drugs would target the same receptors as Gleevec and Sutent, they would do so by a different mechanism and may therefore be useful for patients who are resistant to these drugs.
"I was surprised to see what the molecules did when they were activated," said Joseph Schlessinger, professor and chair of pharmacology and senior author of the study. "The arrangement is much simpler and more elegant than I thought."
The paper, accompanying images, and animation-which looks like a beautiful dance-provide the first detailed, atomic level view of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) Kit before and after it is activated. There are 59 RTK proteins in humans and they play critical roles in the control of a great variety of normal cellular processes as well as in several cancers.
Schlessinger said the newly-revealed mechanism for RTK activation is utilized by many RTKs. "Moreover, these structures offer unexpected new opportunities for drug discovery for the treatment of cancers and other diseases driven by activated RTKs," he said.
The finding is the result of many years of work involving protein expression, biochemical and biophysical studies and X-ray crystallography, a method used for viewing molecules at a resolution high enough to see atomic detail.
The receptor tyrosine kinase Kit and its natural ligand stem cell factor play an important role in normal blood cell production, gut function, pigmentation, and reproduction. Humans in whom this function is suppressed, or the function is lost, have what is known as a piebald trait-a wing-like discoloration on the chest and abdomen, a white forelock of hair, deafness, and constipation. Mice with the same mutation also have depigmentation and are often anemic and sterile. However, mutations in which the Kit function is activated are found in a variety of human cancers, among them gastro-intestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and several forms of leukemia.
The structural analysis clearly shows a conformational change as stem cell factor brings two Kit molecules together, resulting in a large rearrangement of and association between parts of the molecule. Schlessinger said the next step is to identify drugs that can form a wedge in the Kit molecule, making it impossible for them to join together and be activated.
Co-authors include Satoru Yuzawa, Yarden Opatowsky, Zhontang Zhang, Valsan Mandiyan, and Irit Lax.
Cell: (July 27, 2007)
yale.edu
View drug information on Gleevec; Sutent.
суббота, 1 октября 2011 г.
Gender And Family Size Influences IBS Symptoms In Children
Research presented at the 71st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology suggests that illness behavior, specifically complaints of recurrent abdominal pain, in girls with mothers who have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) may be intensified in smaller families, where children have more one-on-one contact with their mothers.
Researcher Shelby Langer, PhD and colleagues from the University of Washington looked at survey data from 631 children of 450 mothers, 46 percent of whom had a diagnosis of IBS. Mothers completed the Children's Somatization Inventory, which measures nonspecific somatic symptoms including headaches, back pain, sore muscles, and abdominal pain. Mothers rated the severity of their children's abdominal pain for two weeks using a five-point scale ranging from "no pain" to "a whole lot of pain."
In general, mothers with IBS reported greater abdominal pain severity for their children than did control mothers. Mothers with IBS reported greater pain severity for girls versus boys when the child had either no siblings or one sibling, but not two or more siblings. This pattern was reversed for non-IBS mothers, who reported greater pain severity for girls versus boys when the child had two or more siblings.
"Our findings are in line with well-established gender differences in pain reported in the medical literature, and are consistent with work published by Dr. Rona Levy and colleagues on the psychosocial effects of maternal IBS status," said Dr. Langer.
In the study, Dr. Langer looked at the interactive effects of maternal IBS status, child gender and family size, and her results paint a more complex picture. Her findings suggest that
Onset of IBS Symptoms in Children with IBS Mothers
mothers who do not have IBS rate girls as having greater pain than boys in large but not small families. Dr. Langer's research suggests that perhaps girls in large families use symptom complaints as a means of getting attention.
In comparison, mothers who do have IBS rate girls as having greater pain than boys in small but not large families. Dr. Langer explains, "The acquisition of illness behavior by daughters of women with IBS may be intensified in smaller families, where presumably these children have more one-on-one time to learn either through observation or other mechanisms. Future research is needed to explore the mechanisms by which family size, child gender and maternal IBS cases interact."
About the American College of Gastroenterology
The ACG was formed in 1932 to advance the scientific study and medical treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The College promotes the highest standards in medical education and is guided by its commitment to meeting the needs of clinical gastroenterology practitioners. Consumers can get more information on GI diseases through the following ACG-sponsored programs:
ibsrelief
acg.gi
Researcher Shelby Langer, PhD and colleagues from the University of Washington looked at survey data from 631 children of 450 mothers, 46 percent of whom had a diagnosis of IBS. Mothers completed the Children's Somatization Inventory, which measures nonspecific somatic symptoms including headaches, back pain, sore muscles, and abdominal pain. Mothers rated the severity of their children's abdominal pain for two weeks using a five-point scale ranging from "no pain" to "a whole lot of pain."
In general, mothers with IBS reported greater abdominal pain severity for their children than did control mothers. Mothers with IBS reported greater pain severity for girls versus boys when the child had either no siblings or one sibling, but not two or more siblings. This pattern was reversed for non-IBS mothers, who reported greater pain severity for girls versus boys when the child had two or more siblings.
"Our findings are in line with well-established gender differences in pain reported in the medical literature, and are consistent with work published by Dr. Rona Levy and colleagues on the psychosocial effects of maternal IBS status," said Dr. Langer.
In the study, Dr. Langer looked at the interactive effects of maternal IBS status, child gender and family size, and her results paint a more complex picture. Her findings suggest that
Onset of IBS Symptoms in Children with IBS Mothers
mothers who do not have IBS rate girls as having greater pain than boys in large but not small families. Dr. Langer's research suggests that perhaps girls in large families use symptom complaints as a means of getting attention.
In comparison, mothers who do have IBS rate girls as having greater pain than boys in small but not large families. Dr. Langer explains, "The acquisition of illness behavior by daughters of women with IBS may be intensified in smaller families, where presumably these children have more one-on-one time to learn either through observation or other mechanisms. Future research is needed to explore the mechanisms by which family size, child gender and maternal IBS cases interact."
About the American College of Gastroenterology
The ACG was formed in 1932 to advance the scientific study and medical treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The College promotes the highest standards in medical education and is guided by its commitment to meeting the needs of clinical gastroenterology practitioners. Consumers can get more information on GI diseases through the following ACG-sponsored programs:
ibsrelief
acg.gi
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