Discoveries

Apoptosis is a mechanism of cell death that occurs in normal tissues as part of natural cell turnover and remodeling. Apoptotic cells are cleared by efforcytosis, a specialized form of phagocytosis mediated by MerTK, a receptor tyrosine kinase expressed by many phagocytic cells. MerTK recognizes a combination of ligands, such… Read More

Our growing ability to acquire data at the level of single cells in complex samples provides exciting new opportunities to understand physiological and pathophysiological processes; however, it also presents daunting challenges for the statistical evaluation of the resultant huge datasets. To date, most experimental approaches have focused on identifying the… Read More

A New Approach to RAS Inhibition Image reproduced with permission from T. R. Hodges, et al., (2018) J. Med. Chem., published online September 11, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01108. Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society RAS is a small protein that acts as a molecular on/off switch to modulate numerous signaling pathways that… Read More

Promoting Immune-Mediated Therapy in Breast Cancer Image courtesy of Dr. Steven Harmes. Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas Texas. Despite major progress in early diagnosis and treatment, breast cancer (BC) remains the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S. A promising new approach to cancer therapy… Read More

Elongating Microvilli in the Intestine Enterocyte showing Brush border and unstirred layer Author: Boumphreyfr Enterocytes, the epithelial cells lining the lumen of the intestine, develop a dense lawn of microvilli (MV) on their apical surface as they differentiate from stem cells in the intestinal crypt. We know that MV… Read More

A Path to Insulin Resistance in Diet-Induced Obesity Increasing evidence indicates that inflammation in adipose tissue (AT) contributes to insulin resistance and other metabolic abnormalities frequently observed in obesity. We know that macrophages in AT play an important role in obesity-associated inflammation and that obese AT can activate proinflammatory… Read More

New Target for Treatment of Schizophrenia Although today’s antipsychotic medications provide effective relief from some of the symptoms of schizophrenia, not all symptoms are improved, and most patients suffer significant drug-related side effects. In the search for better drugs, recent attention has focused on the M4muscarinic acetylcholine receptordue to… Read More

​Methylglyoxal-Histone Adducts As the primary protein component of the nucleosome, histones play a critical role in packaging DNA and regulating chromatin dynamics. Histones contain an unusually large number of lysine and arginine residues, particularly in their N-terminal tail. These residues serve as sites of numerous enzymatically controlled post-translational… Read More

Targeting Melanoma by CXCR4 Inhibition Chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is a G protein-coupled receptor that is overexpressed in many kinds of cancer, both in the tumor cells themselves and in the surrounding stroma. CXCR4-mediated signaling, initiated by its endogenous ligand, CXCL12, promotes tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. Hence, CXCR4… Read More

Control of Axon-Mediated Neuronal Degeneration Neuronal cell death by apoptosis plays an important role in development and the establishment of neural circuits. However, if not properly regulated, neuronal apoptosis can lead to serious neurodegenerative disease. Helping to maintain the critical balance between survival and death are the neurotrophins,… Read More