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The Biotech Weblog
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Leukemia Drug May Treat Type-1 Diabetes
11/20/08 3:33 PM
Leukemia drug Imatinib (Trade name: Gleevec) has been shown in animal trials to have potentials to prevent and even reverse type 1 diabetes.
[snip] they found that treating mice with Imatinib or a similar inhibitor drug for seven weeks before the onset of auto-immune (type 1) diabetes prevented development of the disease long after the treatment was stopped.
Only 20 per cent of the animals treated with Imatinib became progressively diabetic by 30 weeks of age, as opposed to 71 per cent of those who did not have the drug.
The majority of imatinib-treated mice remained non-diabetic at 50 weeks of age, suggesting that the short-term therapy had long-term effects on the development of diabetes.
The drug put 80 per cent of mice with existing disease into remission when mice were treated for eight to 10 weeks after disease onset.
These findings suggest that the cancer drug could be used to treat type 1 diabetes and, possibly, other auto-immune diseases. However, trials are needed to confirm whether the drug confers the same effect on humans.
See full article.
Related Entries:
Anticancer Drug Against Hodgkin's and Leukemia Granted Orphan Drug Status - 31 January 2006
FTY720 May Treat Imatinib (Gleevec)- Resistant Leukemia - 28 August 2007
Gleevec®, Proven Safe and Effective Over The Long Term - 13 November 2007
Cancer Drug Gleevec May Treat Type 1 Diabetes - 19 November 2008
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Biofuel from Olive Stones
11/18/08 1:42 AM
Researchers are exploring the potential of olive stones, otherwise a waste product of the olive processing industry, as a substrate for bioethanol production. The stones are rich in polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) that can be broken down into sugar and then fermented to produce ethanol.
In a pilot study, the olive stones were pre-treated using high-pressure hot water before the addition of enzymes which degrade plant matter and generate sugars. The hydrolysate obtained from this process was then fermented with yeasts to yield about 5.7 kg of ethanol per 100kg of olive stones.
See full article.
Related Entries:
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Compound May Boost Biofuel Production from Plant Fiber - 09 November 2006
T. reesei Genome Analysis Reveals Potential in Biofuel Production - 07 May 2008
Sweet Potato as Biofuel Source - 28 August 2008
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Astragalus Compound May Help in AIDS Treatment
11/16/08 5:55 PM
Researchers have identified a compound called TAT2 derived from Astragalus, an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, can prevent or slow progressive telomere shortening in immune cells, which could make useful in the treatment of HIV infections.
They tested TAT2 in several ways. First, they exposed the CD8 T-cells from HIV-infected persons to TAT2 to see if the chemical not only slowed the shortening of the telomeres but improved the cells' production of soluble factors called chemokines and cytokines, which had previously been shown to inhibit HIV replication. It did.
They then took blood samples from HIV-infected individuals and separated out the CD8 T-cells and the CD4 T-cells - those infected with HIV. They treated the CD8 T-cells with TAT2 and combined them with the CD4 T-cells in the dish and found that the treated CD8 cells inhibited production of HIV by the CD4 cells.
Researchers say that given these properties, the compound may be useful not only in treating HIV disease, but also immunodeficiency and increased susceptibility to other viral infections associated with chronic diseases or aging. The study
See full article.
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Genetically Engineered Corn May Reduce Fertility
11/16/08 12:14 PM
The Center for Food Safety is calling for a moratorium on the distribution of genetically engineered foods following an Austrian animal trial indicating that a diet f genetically engineered corn reduced the fertility of mice. In the study, mice fed with Monsanto's GE corn (NK603 x MON810, sold under the brand names YieldGard (Plus)/Roundup Ready) had fewer litters, fewer total offspring, and more females with no offspring, than mice feed the conventional corn. You can download the full report of the study here (pdf file).
See full article.
Related Entries:
Animal Model to Test Allergenic Potential of Genetically Engineered Crops - 06 October 2006
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Genetically Engineered Mouse Model Mimics Hyperglycemia - 02 June 2008
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Blood Triglyceride Levels May Predict Obesity
10/31/08 3:55 PM
A new animal study indicates that the degree of change in blood triglyceride levels following a fatty meal may indicate susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. The researchers suggest that based on these findings, a simple blood test may be designed to identify those at risk for obesity.
In the study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, Friedman and lead author Hong Ji, PhD, screened rats for vulnerability to diet-induced obesity by measuring the increase in blood triglyceride levels following a single high-fat meal. They then fed the rats a diet high in fat over the next four weeks.
The researchers were able to predict which animals would become obese over the four-week period by examining the earlier metabolic response to the high-fat meal: the smaller the triglyceride change, the greater the weight gain.
The researchers hopes to determine whether such a blood test is also an effective predictor of future weight gain in humans.
See full article.
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Rice Genome Array Published
10/28/08 5:47 PM
UC Davis researchers have published a rice DNA microarray that covers nearly all the 45,000 genes in the rice genome. According to a report:
Ronald and her colleagues used the new rice microarray to investigate gene expression changes when plants are grown in the light versus the dark. They then combined this gene expression data with biochemical pathway data to correctly predict the function of genes whose role was previously unknown. The newly identified genes carry out light-related biochemical processes such as photosynthesis and photorespiration.
The rice oligonucleotide near-whole genome array, called the rice NSF45K array, is publicly available here.
See full article.
Related Entries:
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GIF1 Gene: Key To High-Yield Rice - 29 September 2008
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Genetically Modified Anthocyanin-Rich Tomatoes
10/27/08 4:35 PM
A European group of researchers have successfully expressed genes from the Snapdragon flower in tomatoes, resulting to deep-purple colored tomatoes with unprecedentedly high anthocyanin content at concentrations comparable to the anthocyanin levels found in blackberries and blueberries. The expression of the two transgenes increased the hydrophilic antioxidant capacity of tomato fruit threefold and a pilot animal study demonstrated that cancer-susceptible Trp53-/- mice fed a diet supplemented with the high-anthocyanin tomatoes showed a significant extension of life span.
See news release from the John Innes Center and the study published in Nature Biotechnology, doi:10.1038/nbt.1506.
Note: Two years ago, I reported on the work of a group of scientists from Oregon State University also working on purple tomatoes.
See full article.
Related Entries:
MSU Receives EPA Grant To Develop Test for Allergenic Potentials of Genetically Modified Foods - 06 October 2006
Animal Model to Test Allergenic Potential of Genetically Engineered Crops - 06 October 2006
Genetically Modified Eggplants Goes on Field Trials - 09 October 2007
BtCorn Toxins May Harm Stream Ecosystems - 11 October 2007
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Novel Antibiotic Candidates from Myxobacteria
10/26/08 3:20 PM
German researchers have identified a group of new natural antibiotics against tuberculosis. The compounds have been isolated from Myxobacteria, and works by inhibiting the pathogen's RNA polymerase, thus preventing the translation of the bacteria's DNA.
"In our fundus we have three substances - myxopyronin, corallopyronin and ripostatin - which were isolated and characterised chemically and biologically. Already many years ago we recognized their unusual antibiotic effect. It was directed in an unknown manner against the bacterial RNA polymerase, i.e. the enzyme that reads the DNA of the pathogen. In eukaryontic cells, which human cells are also belonging to, the substances do not attack the RNA polymerase."
The results supported the indication that the natural substances block the bacterial RNA polymerase in a new manner: the natural substances append to another location within the RNA polymerase than the antibiotics previously investigated.
They attach to the enzyme - which looks like an open crab claw - directly at its joint position. Subsequently the enzyme is no longer able to open the claw. By this mechanism of action the active substances prevent the RNA polymerase from adhering to the DNA - reading of the genetic materials is suppressed completely. This new mechanism also operates in bacteria that are resistant to conventional antibiotics.
The study has been published in the journal Cell, doi 10.1016/j.cell.2008.09.033.
Source
See full article.
Related Entries:
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Studying Macrolide Formation Paves Way for Novel Antibiotics - 20 September 2006
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Green Tea Increases Antibiotic Efficacy - 31 March 2008
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Orange Peel Removes Acidic Dyes from Industrial Effluents
10/21/08 3:44 PM
Algerian researchers explored the use of orange peel in the removal of acidic dyes from industrial effluent from manufacturers of dyes, paper printers, textile dyers, color photography and petroleum products.
The research demonstrates that absorption time depends on the initial concentration of the dyes as well as the chemical structures of the particular dyes being tested, but absorption can occur at just 25 Celsius rather than elevated temperatures. However, strong dyes including Nylosane Blue, Erionyl Yellow, Nylomine Red, and Erionyl Red were absorbed at between 40 and 70 milligrams per gram of orange peel from the samples.
"In laboratory-scale studies, the data show that orange peel has a considerable potential for the removal of dyes from aqueous solutions over a wide range of concentrations," Benaïssa says. "Orange peel may be used as a low-cost, natural and abundant source for the removal of dyes, and it may be an alternative to more costly materials. It may also be effective in removing other harmful or undesirable species present in the waste effluents."
Their findings have been published in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.
See full article.
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Orange & Chocolate, Perfect Match - 15 October 2006
That darn orange peel - 08 December 2006
Chemicals and Breast Cancer - 22 May 2007
Sea kelp vs. cellulite - 04 September 2007
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