Breaching the retinal barrier FREE

by Tim Fulmer, Senior Writer

doi:10.1038/scibx.2009.1554

Trinity College Dublin researchers have demonstrated that RNAi can be used to reversibly increase the permeability of the blood retina barrier and deliver small molecules to the mouse retina. The researchers are now adapting the approach for use in humans.

Full text - Breaching the retinal barrier | PDF (160 KB) - Breaching the retinal barrier

Wnt it rains

by Steve Edelson, Executive Editor

doi:10.1038/scibx.2009.1555

Dutch researchers have found a new target in the Wnt pathway called TNIK. The kinase could be druggable and may be a good target in colon and other cancers. But TNIK's general expression pattern will have to be analyzed to evaluate the potential side effects of inhibiting it.

Full text - Wnt it rains | PDF (486 KB) - Wnt it rains

New autoimmunity targets

by Lev Osherovich, Senior Writer

doi:10.1038/scibx.2009.1556

Newly published research suggests that antagonizing the soluble form of FASL or agonizing PPARδ could boost the killing and clearance of apoptotic cells, the source of many self-antigens, and thus help treat autoimmune conditions. The challenge is to subtly manipulate these targets without eliciting unwanted side effects.

Full text - New autoimmunity targets | PDF (158 KB) - New autoimmunity targets

More iPS cells in less time

by Kai-Jye Lou, Staff Writer

doi:10.1038/scibx.2009.1557

Scripps researchers have developed a small molecule approach that provides more than a 200-fold boost in the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from human fibroblasts while cutting the generation time in half. Fate Therapeutics hopes to apply the technology to its platform for producing pharmaceutical-grade iPS cells for drug discovery and therapeutic use.

Full text - More iPS cells in less time | PDF (153 KB) - More iPS cells in less time

Predicting susceptibility to seven autoimmune disorders through HLA SNP analysis; increasing the efficacy of paclitaxel with MPS1 antagonists; using TRPV1 inhibitors to treat pain; treating ocular hypertension with LIMK2 inhibitors; and more...

more therapeutics

A PSA assay for early detection of prostate cancer recurrence; a mouse model of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy; molecular markers of truly pluripotent human iPS cells; and more...

more techniques