Even Closer to the Dream of an HIV Vaccine

Researchers report on the early development of anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies

Friday, January 14, 2011

New findings are bringing scientists closer to an effective HIV vaccine. Researchers from Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (Seattle BioMed), Vanderbilt University and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard report findings showing new evidence about broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies, which block HIV infection. Details are published January 13 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens.

According to author Leo Stamatatos, Ph.D., director of the Viral Vaccines Program at Seattle BioMed and a major stumbling block in the development of an effective vaccine against HIV is the inability to elicit, by immunization, broadly reactive neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). These antibodies bind to the surface of HIV and prevent it from attaching itself to a cell and infecting it. However, a fraction of people infected with HIV develop broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) capable of preventing cell-infection by diverse HIV isolates, which are the type of antibodies researchers wish to elicit by vaccination.

"We've found that the people who develop broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies – which are about 30% of those infected – tend to have a healthier immune system that differs from others who don't develop those antibodies," Stamatatos explained, saying that these antibodies target only a few regions of HIV which is good from the standpoint of vaccine development. "It gives us less to target," he said.

In addition, the new findings show that these antibodies are generated much sooner than previously thought, in some cases as soon as a year after infection.

"These studies provide a strong rationale to begin teasing out the early immunological signals that allow some individuals, but not others, to mount broadly reactive neutralizing antibody responses," adds co-author Galit Alter, Ph.D.

"Now we know that these broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies don't develop simply by chance and we can work to understand what makes this 30% of the HIV-infected population different," Stamatatos explained. By understanding that, we can hopefully use that information to design new immunogens and immunization protocols that can mimic the early events that lead to the development of such antibodies during natural infection."

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Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

http://www.labspaces.net/108590/Researchers_report_on_the_early_development_of_anti_HIV_neutralizing_antibodies

With the rate of diabetes in the US, I'm hoping this proves to me a great help.

Scientists discover new mechanism for controlling blood sugar level

November 29, 2010

This hematoxylin- and eosin-stained pancreatic slice illustrates an islet of Langerhans adjacent to a capillary. Credit: University of Leicester

Medical scientists at the University of Leicester have identified for the first time a new way in which our body controls the levels of sugar in our blood following a meal.

They have discovered the part played by a particular protein in helping to maintain correct blood sugar levels.
The breakthrough was made in the University of Leicester by a team led by Professor Andrew Tobin, Professor of Cell Biology, who is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow. The research is published online ahead of print in the prestigious international scientific journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Tobin said: "The work, which was done wholly at the University of Leicester, is focused on the mechanisms by which our bodies control the level of sugar in our blood following a meal.
"We found that in order to maintain the correct levels of sugar, a protein present on the cells that release insulin in the pancreas has to be active. This protein, called the M3-muscarinic receptor, is not only active but also needs to undergo a specific change. This change triggers insulin release and the control of blood sugar levels."
Professor Tobin added: "Without the change in the M3-muscarinic receptor protein sugar levels go up in the same way that we see in diabetes. We are of course testing if the mechanism of controlling sugar levels we have discovered is one of the mechanisms disrupted in diabetes. If this were the case then our studies would have important implications in diabetes."

More information: M3-muscarinic receptor promotes insulin release via receptor phosphorylation/arrestin-dependent activation of protein kinase D1 appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) http://www.pnas.or … stract?ct=ct
Provided by University of Leicester

So far it works for mice with PTSD?

http://www.labspaces.net/108049/Drug_prevents_post_traumatic_stress_syndrome

Drug prevents post-traumatic stress syndrome

Monday, December 6, 2010

 (didn't see a photo credit listed for this awesome pic)

Post-traumatic stress syndrome – when a severely stressful event triggers exaggerated and chronic fear – affects nearly 8 million people in the United States and is hard to treat. In a preclinical study, Northwestern Medicine scientists have for the first time identified the molecular cause of the debilitating condition and prevented it from occurring by injecting calming drugs into the brain within five hours of a traumatic event.
Northwestern researchers discovered the brain becomes overly stimulated after a traumatic event causes an ongoing, frenzied interaction between two brain proteins long after they should have disengaged.

"It's like they keep dancing even after the music stops," explained principal investigator Jelena Radulovic, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and Dunbar Scholar at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. When newly developed research drugs MPEP and MTEP were injected into the hippocampus, the calming drugs ended "the dance."

"We were able to stop the development of exaggerated fear with a simple, single drug treatment and found the window of time we have to intervene," Radulovic said. "Five hours is a huge window to prevent this serious disorder." Past studies have tried to treat the extreme fear responses, after they have already developed, she noted.

The study, conducted with mice, was published Dec. 1 in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

An exaggerated fear disorder can be triggered by combat, an earthquake, a tsunami, rape or any traumatic psychological or physical event.

"People with this syndrome feel danger in everything that surrounds them," Radulovic said. "They are permanently alert and aroused because they expect something bad to happen. They have insomnia; their social and family bonds are severed or strained. They avoid many situations because they are afraid something bad will happen. Even the smallest cues that resemble the traumatic event will trigger a full-blown panic attack."

In a panic attack, a person's heart rate shoots up, they may gasp for breath, sweat profusely and have a feeling of impending death.

Many people bounce back to normal functioning after stressful or dangerous situations have passed. Others may develop an acute stress disorder that goes away after a short period of time. But some go on to develop post-traumatic stress syndrome, which can appear after a time lag.

The stage is set for post-traumatic stress disorder after a stressful event causes a natural flood of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that excites the neurons. The excess glutamate dissipates after 30 minutes, but the neurons remain frenzied. The reason is the glutamate interacts with a second protein (Homer1a), which continues to stimulate the glutamate receptor, even when glutamate is gone.

For the study, Northwestern scientists first subjected mice to a one-hour immobilization, which is distressing to them but not painful. Next, the mice explored the inside of a box and, after they perceived it as safe, received a brief electric shock. Usually after a brief shock in the box, the animals develop normal fear conditioning. If they are returned to the box, they will freeze in fear about 50 percent of the time. However, after the second stressful experience, these mice froze 80 to 90 percent of the time.

The animals' exaggerated chronic fear response continued for at least one month and resembles post-traumatic stress disorder in humans, Radulovic said.

For the second part of the study, Natalie Tronson, a postdoctoral fellow in Radulovic's Dunbar Laboratory for Research on Memory and Fear, and Radulovic repeated the two stressful experiences with the mice but then injected them with MPEP and MTEP five hours after the immobilization. This time the mice did not develop the exaggerated fear response and froze for only 50 percent of the time.

"The mice's fear responses were completely normal," Radulovic said. "Their memories of the stressful event didn't trigger the extreme responses anymore. This means we could have a prevention approach for humans exposed to acute, severe stressful events. "

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Northwestern University: http://www.northwestern.edu

Thanks to Northwestern University for this article.
The sole purpose of the posting of this press release is to serve as a topic for discussion.

Really? Index Finger Length Related to Prostate Cancer?

This theory is still in early stage research. Just curious though guys, is your index finger longer than your ring finger? Any of you had or know you are genetically predisposed to prostate cancer? I've generally thought that the great majority of people their ring finger was longer, so this info doesn't seem very compelling to me. However, it is a topic of interest to me since men on both sides of my family have


Index finger length prostate cancer clue

Georgia farmer fined $5K for growing too many veggies | Food Freedom

Georgia farmer fined $5K for growing too many veggies | Food Freedom

What ever is the country coming to!  Difficult to believe this is real.  Will have to do more reading of the back story.

Now this is cool!

Link to original article at Lab Spaces (awesome site)
Press Release

Cinnamon can replace harmful chemicals used to create nanoparticles

Cinnamon Credit: Luc Viatour/CC3.0
Monday, November 29, 2010

Gold nanoparticles, tiny pieces of gold so small that they can't be seen by the naked eye, are used in electronics, healthcare products and as pharmaceuticals to fight cancer. Despite their positive uses, the process to make the nanoparticles requires dangerous and extremely toxic chemicals. While the nanotechnology industry is expected to produce large quantities of nanoparticles in the near future, researchers have been worried about the environmental impact of the global nanotechnological revolution.

Now, a study by a University of Missouri research team, led by MU scientist Kattesh Katti, curators' professor of radiology and physics in the School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Science, senior research scientist at the University of Missouri Research Reactor and director of the Cancer Nanotechnology Platform, has found a method that could replace nearly all of the toxic chemicals required to make gold nanoparticles. The missing ingredient can be found in nearly every kitchen's spice cabinet – cinnamon.

The usual method of creating gold nanoparticles utilizes harmful chemicals and acids that are not environmentally safe and contain toxic impurities. In the MU study, Katti and researchers Raghuraman Kannan, the Michael J and Sharon R. Bukstein Distinguished Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research, assistant professor of radiology and director of the Nanoparticle Production Core Facility; and Nripen Chanda, a research associate scientist, mixed gold salts with cinnamon and stirred the mixture in water to synthesize gold nanoparticles. The new process uses no electricity and utilizes no toxic agents.

"The procedure we have developed is non-toxic," Kannan said. "No chemicals are used in the generation of gold nanoparticles, except gold salts. It is a true 'green' process."

"From our work in green nanotechnology, it is clear that cinnamon — and other species such as herbs, leaves and seeds — will serve as a reservoir of phytochemicals and has the capability to convert metals into nanoparticles," Katti said. "Therefore, our approach to 'green' nanotechnology creates a renaissance symbolizing the indispensable role of Mother Nature in all future nanotechnological developments."

During the study, the researchers found that active chemicals in cinnamon are released when the nanoparticles are created. When these chemicals, known as phytochemicals, are combined with the gold nanoparticles, they can be used for cancer treatment. The phytochemicals can enter into cancer cells and assist in the destruction or imaging of cancer cells, Katti said.

"Our gold nanoparticles are not only ecologically and biologically benign, they also are biologically active against cancer cells," Katti said.

As the list of applications for nanotechnology grows in areas such as electronics, healthcare products and pharmaceuticals, the ecological implications of nanotechnology also grow. When considering the entire process from development to shipping to storage, creating gold nanoparticles with the current process can be incredibly harmful to the environment, Chanda said.

"On one hand, you are trying to create a new, useful technology. However, continuing to ignore the environmental effects is detrimental to the progress," Kannan said.

Katti, who is considered to be father of green nanotechnology, and Nobel prize winner Norman Borlaug have shared similar views on the potential of green nanotechnology in medicine, agricultural and life sciences. Borlaug predicted a connection between medical and agricultural sciences. Katti, who is the editor of The International Journal of Green Nanotechnology, said that as more uses for nanotechnology are created, scientists must develop ways to establish the connection between nanotechnology and green science. The study was published this fall in Pharmaceutical Research.

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University of Missouri-Columbia: http://www.missouri.edu

Thanks to University of Missouri-Columbia for this article.
The sole purpose of the posting of this press release is to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below.