Inflammation Archives

Fragment-based design of isoquinoline derivatives as anti-inflammatory drugs

Written by

Dr Masakazu Atobe and his colleagues have developed a methodology that can be applied to the discovery of effective drugs.

Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is a well-established high-throughput screening method for drug generation. Fragment molecules used in FBDD tend to be structurally less complex than the compounds used in conventional high-throughput screening techniques. Dr Masakazu Atobe from Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation in Japan and his colleagues have developed a methodology that can be applied to the discovery of effective drugs […]

How new RNA genes are born

Written by

Dr Delihas made an unexpected discovery of an ancestral DNA repeat sequence.

The study of gene birth and evolution focuses on the identification of ancestral genetic sequences, highly conserved during evolution, that can serve as a foundation for gene development. Nicholas Delihas, Professor Emeritus at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, New York, has identified one such ancestral element and presented data and a model to show how new […]

Inflammatory bowel disease and epithelial barrier function

Written by

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) occurs when the epithelial cells lining the gut become weakened, allowing gut microbes to activate immune cells. Gut barrier weakening can be caused by a loss of function of the PTPN2 gene. Professor Declan McCole of the University of California, Riverside and various collaborators have extensively researched the role of the epithelial barrier in IBD, the […]

Novel mouse models shed light on role of omega-6/omega-3 imbalance in chronic disease

Written by

Dr Kang's research suggests that a diet high in omega-3 and low in omega-6 helps prevent many chronic diseases.

The link between two classes of essential fatty acids – omega-3 and omega-6 – and health has, until now, been unclear. This is partly because it has been difficult for researchers to define exactly what each does in the body. To address this problem, Dr Jing X. Kang of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA, developed novel strains […]

Gestational diabetes: A novel detection strategy

Written by

Gestational diabetes is a complication arising in pregnancy that can lead to serious and lifelong health concerns for the mother and child. Currently all pregnant women undergo screening for gestational diabetes, a time-consuming and demanding procedure. However, diagnosis often comes late in pregnancy, leaving limited time for intervention. Dr Jonatan Dereke and his fellow researchers at Lund University, Sweden are […]