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New Details on the Molecular Machinery of Cancer

By Guest PostFebruary 17, 2013Scienceactivation, adam smith, addition of phosphate, anton arkhipov, autophosphorylation, berkeley lab, cancer, cancer therapies, cancers, cell surface protein, cellular functions, computational modeling, egf ligand, egfr, epidermal growth factor, fluorescence spectroscopy, gene, immune system, jay groves, john kuriyan, ligand induced dimerization, living cells, molecular machinery, nicholas endres, nuclear magnetic resonance, photon, post translational process, protein activation, quantitative approach, quantitative biology techniques, rahul das, receptor, receptor tyrosine kinases, single compound molecule, specific proteins, t-cell receptors, time resolved, uc, university of california

Berkeley Lab Researchers Resolve EGFR Activation Mystery

Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have provided important new details into the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface protein that has been strongly linked to a large number of cancers and is a major target of cancer therapies.

“The more we understand about EGFR and the complex molecular machinery involved in the growth and proliferation of cells, the closer we will be to developing new and more effective ways to cure and treat the many different forms of cancer,” says chemist Jay Groves, one of the leaders of this research. “Through a tour-de-force of quantitative biology techniques that included cutting edge time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in living cells, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and computational modeling, we’ve determined definitively how EGFR becomes activated through to its epidermal growth factor (EGF) ligand.” (more…)

The Genetics of Self-Incompatibility

*Petunias show that the mechanisms behind inbreeding prevention are similar to immune response*

About the image: The female part of the petunia flower secretes an enzyme that is designed to deter pollen tube growth, thereby preventing fertilization. However, in the cases that the pollen has come from a genetically different plant, the pollen produces its own protein that combats the pistil’s enzyme. With the enzyme out of the way, the pollen tube can keep growing and fertilization can occur. Image credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation

Inbreeding is a bad strategy for any organism, producing weak and problematic offspring. So imagine the challenge of inbreeding prevention in a plant where male and female sexual organs grow right next to each other! Such is the genetic conundrum faced by the petunia. (more…)

Tag Archives: t-cell receptors

New Details on the Molecular Machinery of Cancer

The Genetics of Self-Incompatibility