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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease whose main symptoms are redness, swelling, and itchy rashes. It is more common in people with a genetic predisposition. The manifestation of symptoms depends on interactions among the immune system, environmental factors, and gut microbiota. Knowing how these factors correlate is fundamental to a better understanding of the disease and serves as a basis for novel therapies, according to a review. Also known as atopic eczema, AD affects 7%-10% of adults and 20%-25% of young children. A hypothesis that has been proposed to explain the significant increase in developing countries is...

The use of high-protease pancreatic replacement therapy demonstrated improvement in maladaptive behaviors, such as irritability, in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to research. "Children who have ASD often have a number of co-occurring maladaptive behaviors, such as irritability. We wanted to know whether these maladaptive behaviors can be addressed by an intervention with a low risk of side effects," said Deborah A. Pearson, Ph.D. Pearson said many children with ASD are selective about the foods they eat, often preferring carbohydrates like bread and pasta over protein. Some amino acids necessary for building neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and...

A woman's fertility normally decreases by her late 30s with reproductive function eventually ceasing at menopause. It is known that a small molecule called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) plays a critical role in this decline, and scientists have revealed how this happens and have identified potential new approaches to enhance reproductive longevity. NAD+, which is present in all cells throughout the human body, begins to decline with age and maintaining optimal levels is vital for key cellular functions and healthy aging, said Perrone. Recently, it became clear that the same decline was occurring in the ovaries, contributing to the natural...

...Prostate Cancer Illustration Researchers have found that a single enzyme called PI5P4Kα can be targeted to kill prostate cancer. The discovery is the first of its kind and could help tackle treatment resistance in prostate cancer. Additionally, it could lead to better treatment options for other types of cancer, including those affecting the breast, skin, and pancreas. By inhibiting one enzyme, scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys can kill prostate cancer cells when other treatments can’t. For the first time, researchers have discovered that prostate cancer can be killed by targeting a single enzyme, called PI5P4Kα. The findings, published recently in...

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), one of the most common forms of dementia, has no cure. Now, a group has identified three bacteria involved in DLB—Collinsella, Ruminococcus, and Bifidobacterium. Their findings suggest new avenues for diagnosis and treatment. The onset of DLB is associated with abnormal deposits of alpha-synuclein, a protein in the brain. A research group discovered that three intestinal bacteria, Collinsella, Ruminococcus, and Bifidobacterium, were associated with patients with DLB. The bacteria Akkermansia, which degrades the intestinal mucosa, increased. On the other hand, the bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in the gut decreased. On the other...

An enzyme with an elusive role in severe inflammation may be a key mechanism driving COVID-19 severity and could provide a new therapeutic target to reduce COVID-19 mortality, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. sPLA2-IIA, which has similarities to an active enzyme in rattlesnake venom, is found in low concentrations in healthy individuals and has long been known to play a critical role in defense against bacterial infections, destroying microbial cell membranes. When the activated enzyme circulates at high levels, it has the capacity to "shred" the membranes of vital organs, said Floyd (Ski) Chilton....

...Researchers believe the secretion of the sPLA2-IIA enzyme in COVID-19 patients could be the most important predictor of death in patients. sPLA2-IIA, which has similarities to an active enzyme in rattlesnake venom, is found in low concentrations in healthy individuals and has long been known to play a critical role in defence against bacterial infections. However, when the enzyme circulates at high levels, it has the capacity to shred the body’s vital organs, according to Floyd Chilton, senior author on the paper. Doctor Chilton said: “It’s a bell-shaped curve of disease resistance versus host tolerance.....

Researchers at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) have genetically engineered a fungus to produce a cocktail of enzymes that break down the carbohydrates in biomass, such as sugarcane trash (tops and leaves) and bagasse, into fermentable sugar for industrially efficient conversion into biofuel. The development of low-cost enzyme cocktails is one of the main challenges in producing second-generation ethanol. Second-generation biofuels are manufactured from various kinds of nonfood biomass, including agricultural residues, wood chips and waste cooking oil. The CNPEM research group's process paves the way for optimized use of sugarcane residues to produce biofuels....

The new research was spurred by the discovery in 2016 of the first bacterium that had naturally evolved to eat plastic, at a waste dump in Japan. Scientists have now revealed the detailed structure of the crucial enzyme produced by the bug. The international team then tweaked the enzyme to see how it had evolved, but tests showed they had inadvertently made the molecule even better at breaking down the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic used for soft drink bottles. “What actually turned out was we improved the enzyme, which was a bit of a shock,” said Prof John McGeehan, at...

Sad news for our patients and friends Dear Patients, Family, Friends, and Colleagues: It is with great sadness that the office of Nicholas J. Gonzalez, M.D. relays news of his untimely death on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. The cause of death was cardiac related, it appears, as he suddenly collapsed and was unable to be revived. Dr. Gonzalez was in excellent health otherwise so his passing is quite unexpected. Currently, his family is taking care of funeral arrangements and Dr. Linda Isaacs and his office staff are tending to patients. In the interim, please know Dr. Gonzalez’ office will keep...

Scientists have discovered that a particular type of enzyme can cut away antigens in blood types A and B, to make them more like Type O -- considered the 'universal' blood type, because it's the only type that can be donated to anyone without the risk of provoking a life-threatening immune response. The team, from the University of British Columbia of Canada, worked with a family of enzymes called 98 glycoside hydrolase, extracted from a strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Over many generations, they were able to engineer a super high-powered enzyme strain that can very effectively snip away blood antigens...

Using the tools of paleogenetics, scientists have recently traced the evolutionary history of an enzyme that helps us metabolize ethanol, the principal type of alcohol found in adult beverages. Scientists believe early human ancestors evolved their ethanol-digesting ability about 10 million years ago to fortify their diet as they shifted from a tree-based lifestyle to a more ground-based lifestyle... To help narrow that range, researchers studied the genetic evolution of alcohol-metabolizing enzyme ADH4, which has been present in primates, in one form or another, for at least 70 million years. Using genetic sequences from 28 different mammals, including 17 primates,...

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – The work of a team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) led by Professor Nicholas Tonks FRS, suggests a way to overcome one of the major technical obstacles preventing a leading therapeutic target for diabetes and obesity from being addressed successfully by novel drugs. The target is an enzyme called PTP1B, discovered by Tonks in 1988 and long known to be an important player in the signaling pathway within cells that regulates the response to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism by spurring cells, particularly in the liver...

A new superbug that is resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics has entered UK hospitals, experts warn. They say bacteria which make an enzyme called NDM-1 travelled back with NHS patients who had gone abroad to countries like India and Pakistan for treatments such as cosmetic surgery. Although there have only been about 50 cases identified in the UK so far, scientists fear it will go global. Tight surveillance and new drugs are needed says Lancet Infectious Diseases. NDM-1 can exist inside different bacteria, like E.coli, and it makes them resistant to one of the most powerful groups of...

(BRONX, NY) — A team led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found a clear link between living to 100 and inheriting a hyperactive version of an enzyme that rebuilds telomeres — the tip ends of chromosomes. The findings appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Telomeres play crucial roles in aging, cancer and other biological processes. Their importance was recognized last month, when three scientists were awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for determining the structure of telomeres and discovering how they protect...

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Scientists in Japan have identified an enzyme which appears to suppress breast cancer and they hope the finding will spur new therapies to control the second most common cancer in the world. At issue is the enzyme CHIP, which experts say can stunt cancer growth by degrading a number of cancer-causing proteins. The enzyme occurs naturally in human breast tissue. In an article published in Nature Cell Biology, the scientists said they injected two kinds of human breast cancer cells into mice. One set carried the CHIP enzyme and the other was without the chemical. Tumors...

All biological reactions within human cells depend on enzymes. Their power as catalysts enables biological reactions to occur usually in milliseconds. But how slowly would these reactions proceed spontaneously, in the absence of enzymes – minutes, hours, days? And why even pose the question? One scientist who studies these issues is Richard Wolfenden, Ph.D., Alumni Distinguished Professor Biochemistry and Biophysics and Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wolfenden holds posts in both the School of Medicine and in the College of Arts and Sciences and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1995,...

Many chemical reactions occur from simple collisions. One atom may have spare electrons, another may need them. Attracted by each other’s valences, the atoms collide and bonds form. Not so with biological enzymes: these molecular machines owe their efficiency to their three-dimensional shapes. Made up of hundreds of amino acids, enzymes have “active sites” where precise interactions occur. Some even have moving parts that guide the molecules into the active site (e.g., 07/31/2004). The substrate leaves the enzyme unchanged, ready for its next customer. Scientists are finding that the precision of these machines is finely tuned. Here are some astonishing...

LONDON: Scientists have discovered a key part of the mechanism that makes cancer cells so dangerous, a breakthrough which they claim could enable them to stop tumour growth in its tracks. The scientists, led by researchers from the Harvard Medical School, have identified an enzyme which enables cancer cells to consume the huge quantities of glucose they need to fuel uncontrolled growth. Though the key enzyme, known as pyruvate kinase, comes in two forms, the researchers found that only one -- the PKM2 form -- enables cancer cells to consume glucose at an accelerated rate. "Because PKM2 is found in...

WASHINGTON — Scientists have captured an image of an enzyme key to the progression of the deadliest cancers and said on Wednesday their findings may lead to new therapies against not only cancer, but HIV and diabetes too. They caught in the act a mutant version of an enzyme called p300/CBP, which is involved in pancreatic, colon, and lung cancers, thyroid cancer and some leukemias. The image of this structure might provide a way to design a drug that blocks it, and perhaps stop some tumour-causing mutations. The same structure is involved in infection with the AIDS virus and diabetes,...