SHP-2 is an oncogene from the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) superfamily. Mutations in SHP-2 can cause multiple forms of leukemia and solid tumors, as well as the autosomal dominant disorders...
Learn More

Tautomycetin (TTN) is a complex polyketide natural product produced by Streptomyces griseochromogens. It specifically inhibits the protein phosphatases PP1 and PP2A, which are two of the four maj...
Learn More

Wound healing is a complex and dynamic process of rebuilding skin and tissue. Chronic or impaired wounds result when tissues fail to progress through the necessary stages of healing. This is a signifi...
Learn More

The hormonally active form of vitamin D, known as calcitriol or 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3, has shown promise for treating diseases ranging from osteoporosis to cancer to psoriasis. However, the hormone...
Learn More

The hormonally active form of vitamin D, known as calcitriol or 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3, has shown promise for treating diseases ranging from osteoporosis to cancer to psoriasis. However, the hormone...
Learn More

Aortic aneurysms are weakened or bulging areas in the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body.  As many as 30,000 deaths may result from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms each year, but no ...
Learn More

Almost 200,000 men in the United States develop prostate cancer each year. More than 60,000 people develop melanoma. Early diagnosis is key to survival because the best treatment and prognosis for the...
Learn More

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterium responsible for many infectious diseases, including toxic shock syndrome, food poisoning and topical skin infections. Although S. aureus is usually a...
Learn More

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), the most potent toxins known, are among the most dangerous potential bioterrorism threats.  They cause botulism, a severe disease that can cause paralysis in humans...
Learn More

Collagen, the most abundant protein in vertebrates, serves as the fundamental structural protein for vertebrate tissues. Collagen is a fibrous protein consisting of three polypeptide chains that fold ...
Learn More

Quorum sensing is a process used by some bacteria to coordinate behavior based on local population density. To communicate, bacteria release signaling molecules into the environment. When a certain nu...
Learn More

Pathogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract can induce inflammatory responses that negatively affect the ability of animals to efficiently digest food and absorb nutrients. Endotoxin, a characte...
Learn More

Avian influenza causes significant economic losses for poultry producers worldwide and can be transmitted to humans and other mammals. The surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (N...
Learn More

Influenza is a major disease in humans that can be prevented by vaccination. Because new epidemic strains arise every year or two, the conventional influenza vaccine must be adapted almost every year,...
Learn More

Influenza is caused by the eight-segmented influenza virus. Vaccines can be used to prevent influenza, but traditional methods for producing influenza vaccine are slow and cumbersome. To generate re...
Learn More

The H1N1 influenza virus, known as the “swine flu,” has been declared a pandemic.  While this virus is less virulent than many circulating strains of flu virus, it has become the subj...
Learn More

Influenza is a major disease in humans that can be prevented by vaccination. Because new epidemic strains arise every year or two, influenza vaccines must be adapted almost every year.  Live atte...
Learn More

Quorum sensing is a process used by some bacteria to coordinate behavior based on local population density. To communicate, bacteria release signaling molecules, including low molecular weight ligands...
Learn More

Vitamin D is a highly potent regulator of calcium homeostasis and plays an established role in cellular differentiation. A recently discovered class of vitamin D analogs, the 19-nor-vitamin D compound...
Learn More

Vitamin D is a highly potent regulator of calcium homeostasis and plays an established role in cellular differentiation. A recently discovered class of vitamin D analogs, the 19-nor-vitamin D compound...
Learn More

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder in which an individual lacks the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) that converts the amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine.  If left untreated, t...
Learn More

Development of most tissue types involves a complex interplay of multiple growth factors in well defined locations, leading to controlled differentiation of precursor cells into mature, tissue-specifi...
Learn More

Ribonucleases are enzymes that catalyze the degradation of RNA. Levels of RNase activity are controlled in vivo by a ribonuclease inhibitor (RI), which binds strongly to an RNase to completely inhibit...
Learn More

Ribonucleases are enzymes that catalyze the degradation of RNA. Levels of RNase activity are controlled in vivo by a ribonuclease inhibitor (RI), which binds strongly to an RNase to completely inhibit...
Learn More

The extensive use of neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors to treat influenza virus infections by reducing viral sialidase activity requires close monitoring for resistant variants. However, cultured cells do...
Learn More