A group of researchers, led by Mario de Bono’s group in the LMB’s Cell Biology division, have extended our understanding of how animals respond to long-term dangers at a molecular level – which may help in explaining how this process fails in a range of human diseases and medical conditions. Sensory neurons send the brain […]
Insight on Research
Nuocyte research points to new strategies to treat asthma
A group of collaborative researchers, led by Andrew McKenzie’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division, have identified new processes that lead to the development of a novel cell (the nuocyte) implicated in allergies. Nuocytes play a critical role in immune responses to parasitic worm infection. However, they also initiate the early generation of immune responses […]
How bacteria ensure stalled ribosomes are rescued
Venki Ramakrishnan’s group, from the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, has provided structural evidence for how bacterial transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) rescues stalled ribosomes at the end of prematurely truncated or defective messenger RNAs and targets incompletely synthesised proteins for degradation. tmRNA (also known as 10S RNA) combines properties of both transfer RNA (tRNA) and messenger RNA […]
Link between shape shifting protein and HIV resistance
A group of collaborative researchers, led by Leo James’ group in the LMB’s PNAC Division, have discovered evidence that helps to explain why primates are more resistant to HIV than humans are. Rhesus macaques are protected against HIV by a protein, Rhesus TRIMCyp (RhTC), which targets HIV inside cells thereby preventing infection. However, how RhTC […]
Shedding light on cellular transport systems
For cells to perform their elaborate functions, various components must be delivered to the right place at the right time. This is dependent on the cellular equivalent of a railway system; tiny protein machines called molecular motor complexes transport cargoes to their destination by traversing a network of polarized tracks within the cell. However, it […]
The sweet way of detecting bacterial invasion in cells
Felix Randow’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division has identified Galectin-8 as a novel danger receptor and factor of the cellular machinery that protects human cells against bacterial invasion. Galectin 8, a sugar-binding protein in the cytosol, was discovered to be a key component in limiting the growth of Salmonella and to participate in the […]