How cancer viruses protect their host cells against tumor therapies

Certain types of human papillomaviruses (HPV) cause cervical cancer by settling in a body cell and inducing it to divide in an out-of-control process. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now discovered a mechanism by which HPV protects cancer cells from undergoing DNA damage and dying as a result of cancer therapies.

Plant compound protects healthy cells from chemotherapy drugs

Chemotherapy drugs attack not only cancer cells but more generally rapidly dividing tissues. This can cause side effects ranging from hair loss to nausea to deadly infections. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now discovered that the plant compound rocaglamide protects healthy cells from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs.

Abnormal blood stem cells reprogram their environment

Blood arises from stem cells in the bone marrow; in patients with a myelodysplastic disorder (MDS), defective stem cells reprogram their neighbors in the marrow to create a “niche” that promotes their own survival. A recent report by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in collaboration with colleagues from the University Medical Centre Mannheim, suggests that …

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Analyzing living cells quickly and accurately

In order to investigate inflammation, tumors or stem cells, medical practitioners analyze living cells. Non-invasive optical procedures such as Raman spectroscopy accelerate this procedure. Researchers have now developed it to industrial scale.

Mode of action of new multiple sclerosis drug discovered

Dimethyl fumarate inhibits inflammatory cell infiltration of the central nervous system through blockade of a specific receptor. Just a few short weeks ago, dimethyl fumarate was approved in Europe as a basic therapy for multiple sclerosis. Although its efficacy has been established in clinical studies, its underlying mode of action was still unknown, but scientists from Bad Nauheim’s Max Planck …

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