Drug discovery and molecular mechanisms of drug action
Two studies in March 2019 focus on MYC as a target in cancer. MYC is encoded by a well known oncogene, meaning that it can promote cancer. However, MYC has both pro-cancer and anti-cancer properties. The anti-cancer activity tends to dominate when there is more of this protein in the cell; the pro-cancer activity dominates … Read more
Depression is a complex and common disease. In the US, 1 in 6 people will experience clinical depression sometime in his or her life. There are likely multiple underlying cellular or molecular causes of clinical depression. This is why not all patients respond to any given therapy. Symptoms of clinical depression are diverse and sometimes contradictory. … Read more
Changes in how the brain processes memories of pleasurable or rewarding experiences contribute to addiction and depression. A study in mice by LeGates and colleagues provides clues to how the brain processes and remembers rewards, which is key to understanding and treating these mental health disorders. They used light-activated proteins (optogenetics) to alter the strength … Read more
Antibodies are proteins. In the body, they are made by B cells of the immune system. To produce antibodies as therapeutics, they are synthesized by cells in culture. The structure of an antibody is defined by the amino acid sequence of the protein (Figure 1). The incredible diversity of antibodies, which is essential to our … Read more
As someone who recently had the distinctly unpleasurable experience of shingles, I decided to research the vaccines available for this viral disease. Shingles is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), which also causes chicken pox (Figure 1). VZV is a type of herpes virus. Presently, in the US, most children are vaccinated against chicken pox. … Read more