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Yale Researchers Suggests Gene Inhibition May Help Normalize Type 2 Diabetes
In research that could lead to new approaches for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a Yale School of Medicine team has found that suppressing a liver enzyme that induces glucose production helped diminish the symptoms of the disease in a rat model - reducing blood glucose concentrations, decreasing rates of glucose production in the liver, and improving insulin sensitivity. Decreasing expression of the gene, Sirtuin 1, also lowered total cholesterol levels.
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Physicians Caught In Bureaucratic Nightmare While Medicaid Children Suffer, USA
While only two-thirds of Texas doctors treat Medicaid patients, a Texas government agency is using tactics that might turn more doctors away from the program, according to the Texas Medical Association (TMA).
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U.S. Vaccine Advisory Committee Considers Response To H1N1 Spread
The CDC convened a national vaccine advisory committee Friday to discuss the best response to the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) with an estimated 6,000 new cases in the U.S. last week alone, Reuters reports. "The key point is this new infectious disease is not going away," despite the fact the flu season in North America has passed, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said. "In the U.S., we"re still experiencing a steady increase in the number of reported cases."
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MicroRNAs Help Control HIV Life Cycle

Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that specific microRNAs (non-coding RNAs that interfere with gene expression) reduce HIV replication and infectivity in human T-cells. In particular, miR29 plays a key role in controlling the HIV life cycle. The study suggests that HIV may have co-opted this cellular defense mechanism to help the virus hide from the immune system and antiviral drugs. The research was published today in the journal Molecular Cell. Tariq Rana, Ph.D., director of the Program for RNA Biology at Burnham, and colleagues, found that the microRNA miR29 suppresses translation of the HIV-1 genome by transporting the HIV mRNA to processing-bodies (P-bodies), where they are stored or destroyed. This results in a reduction of viral replication and infectivity. The study also showed that inhibition of miR29 enhances viral replication and infectivity. The scientists further demonstrated that strains of HIV-1 with mutations in the region of the genome that interact with miR29 are not inhibited by miR29. "We think the virus may use this mechanism to modulate its own lifecycle, and we may be able to use this to our advantage in developing new drugs for HIV," said Dr. Rana. "Retroviral therapies greatly reduce viral load but cannot entirely eliminate it. This interaction between HIV and miR29 may contribute to that inability. Perhaps, by targeting miR29, we can force HIV into a more active state and improve our ability to eliminate it." Rana"s team looked at miR29 expression levels in infected and uninfected cells and found that miR29 expression was enhanced by HIV-1 infection. Blocking the activity of miR29 with interfering RNA resulted in increased replication and infectivity of the virus. The scientists tested the association of miR29 and HIV-1 by mutating both miR29 and its target region on the HIV virus. When either was altered, miR29s suppression of HIV replication and infectivity was reduced or eliminated. In addition, the team suppressed P-bodies in the cells and noted a similar effect. This suggests that HIV may use miRNAs to become dormant and escape immune response. About Burnham Institute for Medical Research Burnham Institute for Medical Research is dedicated to revealing the fundamental molecular causes of disease and devising the innovative therapies of tomorrow. Burnham, with operations in California and Florida, is one of the fastest-growing research institutes in the country. The Institute ranks among the top-four institutions nationally for NIH grant funding and among the top-25 organizations worldwide for its research impact. Burnham utilizes a unique, collaborative approach to medical research and has established major research programs in cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, infectious and inflammatory and childhood diseases. The Institute is known for its world-class capabilities in stem cell research and drug discovery technologies. Burnham is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation. Burnham Institute for Medical Research


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