A protein whose expression decreases during aging could be key to preserving cellular maintenance mechanisms and preventing the progressive loss of muscle mass that occurs during aging. Scientists from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) and the University of Barcelona (UB) have revealed the role of the TP53INP2 protein in autophagy and the effects of its reduction on skeletal muscle during aging.
One of the difficulties for preventing the evolution of a tumor is that cancer progression can be promoted by undifferentiated or migrating cells whose states could follow different directions. At the 40th edition of Barcelona Biomed conferences at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), which took place from Nov. 27 to 29, 2023, and is entitled “Cancer in Context: Cellular, Tissue, and Organismal Determinants of Malignant Fates,” Angela Nieto presented her latest data on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).
Why cancer? The mechanisms that drive and maintain tumorigenesis are still a mystery. This is a play with different actors who have different roles in several contexts. One of these scenarios is represented by genetic and epigenetic conditions that determine the early trajectories of cancer cells. In addition, different mechanisms will control phenotypes and states that can take one or another direction toward cancer.
A laboratory technique used to generate pluripotent stem cells from any tissue, cellular reprogramming, has led a group of researchers to the discovery of a process that could have an impact on natural tissue repair.
Some portions of the infamous coronavirus spike remained unchanged among variants, enabling certain rare antibodies to recognize all SARS-CoV-2 variants.