1. Biochemistry

Category Archives: Biochemistry

UCLA scientists develop new therapeutics that could accelerate wound healing

Posted on by

Public release date: 19-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Stuart Wolpert swolpert@support.ucla.edu 310-206-0511 University of California - Los Angeles

In "before" and "after" photos from advertisements for wound-healing ointments, bandages and antibiotic creams, we see an injury transformed from an inflamed red gash to smooth and flawless skin.

What we don't appreciate is the vital role that our own natural biomolecules play in the healing process, including their contribution to the growth of new cells and the development of new blood vessels that provide nutrients to those cells.

Now, UCLA researchers led by Heather Maynard, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a member of UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute, are working to take advantage of our body's ability to heal itself by developing new bio-mimicking therapeutics that could be used to treat skin wounds.

Among the key players involved in natural wound-healing is a signaling molecule known as basic fibroblast growth factor, or bFGF, which is secreted by our cells to trigger processes that are involved in healing, as well as embryonic development, tissue regeneration, bone regeneration, the development and maintenance of the nervous system, and stem cell renewal.

bFGF has been widely investigated as a tool doctors could potentially use to promote or accelerate these processes, but its instability outside the body has been a significant hurdle to its widespread use, Maynard said.

Now, Maynard and her team have discovered how to stabilize bFGF based on the principle of mimicry. Relying on the growth factor's ability to bind heparin a naturally occurring complex sugar found on the surface of our cells the team synthesized a polymer that mimics the structure of heparin. When attached to bFGF, the new polymer makes the protein stable to the many stresses that normally inactivate it, rendering it a more suitable candidate for medical applications.

The research is published Feb. 17 in the online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry and will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

UCLA co-authors of the research include graduate students Thi Nguyen and Caitlin Decker, former postdocs Dr. Sung-Hye Kim and Dr. Darice Wong, and Joseph Loo, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

Read more:
UCLA scientists develop new therapeutics that could accelerate wound healing

Science + art exhibit focuses on the beauty of a cure

Posted on by

Feb. 20, 2013

An unusual exhibit focusing on cancer recovery through the lens of art and science will open Feb. 22 in the Biochemistry Department on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Cells are shown just after completing division in one of the works in the exhibit Bioimaging: Domains and Dimensions, opening Feb. 22 at the Biochemistry Addition. The green bundle between the pairs of daughter cells helps them separate. Image by Ahna Skop.

One goal of "Bioimaging: Domains and Dimensions: Healing through Art and Science: Cancer" is "to do a better job of showing the public what kind of science has gone on, and is going on, at Wisconsin," says co-organizer Dave Nelson, professor emeritus of biochemistry.

An artwork by Madison artist Carol Bjerke that stretches 110 feet across one wall is her effort to make sense and meaning of her experience battling and surviving colon cancer. "Every three days while changing my ostomy appliance, I drew the circle of sealant and then photographed the prepared piece before placing it over my stoma" says Bjerke. "At the end of the year l had one hundred and twenty-two images to mark the rhythm of my existence."

Images on the opposite wall highlight groundbreaking cancer research at UW-Madison and local biomedical companies. At McArdle Laboratory in the late 1940s, for example, Charles Heidelberger developed a method to label carcinogenic compounds with radioactive isotopes made available during the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb.

"Heidelberger followed the compounds through healthy cells and discovered that the carcinogens bound to specific proteins; this was one of the first clues to how these agents work," says Nelson. In the 1950s, Heidelberger identified a compound called 5FU that is still used to treat colon cancer.

Another set of images concentrates on the inherent beauty of scientific images. "We are including images generated in labs showing cancer cells, made with bright fluorescent probes," says exhibit coordinator Olga Trubetskoy. "You can view them as pieces of art, but each is accompanied by a plain-language description of the scientific significance."

The modern images also include a 3-D model of a protein that is the main target of 5FU. "What we hope people will see is that there is actually an artistic element to science, and that they have a lot to be proud of in their university," says Nelson.

View post:
Science + art exhibit focuses on the beauty of a cure

New therapeutics could accelerate wound healing

Posted on by

Feb. 19, 2013 In "before" and "after" photos from advertisements for wound-healing ointments, bandages and antibiotic creams, we see an injury transformed from an inflamed red gash to smooth and flawless skin.

What we don't appreciate is the vital role that our own natural biomolecules play in the healing process, including their contribution to the growth of new cells and the development of new blood vessels that provide nutrients to those cells.

Now, UCLA researchers led by Heather Maynard, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a member of UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute, are working to take advantage of our body's ability to heal itself by developing new bio-mimicking therapeutics that could be used to treat skin wounds.

Among the key players involved in natural wound-healing is a signaling molecule known as basic fibroblast growth factor, or bFGF, which is secreted by our cells to trigger processes that are involved in healing, as well as embryonic development, tissue regeneration, bone regeneration, the development and maintenance of the nervous system, and stem cell renewal.

bFGF has been widely investigated as a tool doctors could potentially use to promote or accelerate these processes, but its instability outside the body has been a significant hurdle to its widespread use, Maynard said.

Now, Maynard and her team have discovered how to stabilize bFGF based on the principle of mimicry. Relying on the growth factor's ability to bind heparin -- a naturally occurring complex sugar found on the surface of our cells -- the team synthesized a polymer that mimics the structure of heparin. When attached to bFGF, the new polymer makes the protein stable to the many stresses that normally inactivate it, rendering it a more suitable candidate for medical applications.

The research is published Feb. 17 in the online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry and will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

UCLA co-authors of the research include graduate students Thi Nguyen and Caitlin Decker, former postdocs Dr. Sung-Hye Kim and Dr. Darice Wong, and Joseph Loo, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

The research was federally funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Our ability to heal from wounds is essential to our survival. When those natural healing processes are compromised, serious wounds can lead to infection and other health problems. People with diabetes, for example, can have wounds that heal very slowly. The resulting chronic wounds are debilitating and can lead to loss of limbs or even death. Yet, despite the need for wound dressings that can stimulate the body to heal wounds, very few are curative.

Read more here:
New therapeutics could accelerate wound healing

UW-Madison uses art to educate public on cancer

Posted on by

The University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemistry department will debut a new art exhibit to educate the public on the universitys current and past cancer research.

The exhibit, Healing through Art and Science: Cancer, is part of an ongoing initiative by the biochemistry department to showcase the universitys research through art, according to a statement released by the university.

The exhibit includes a 110-foot-long collection of photographs by local artist Carol Bjerke that explores her experience with colon cancer and her journey to understand her experiences, according to the statement.

Additionally, other pieces in the exhibit will focus on specific research projects at the university, including a look at carcinogens, which are substances thought to cause cancer.

The exhibit is free and open to the public in the Biochemistry Addition until March 31. An official opening will take place Feb. 22 at 3 p.m.

Tags: Biochemistry department, Healing through Art and Science: Cancer

Read more here:
UW-Madison uses art to educate public on cancer

Low protein foods – Video

Posted on by


Low protein foods
Prescription low protein versions of staple foods. Prescribed to me for Maple Syrup Urine Disease. MSUD is an inherited genetic disorder, passed down from two non-affected #39;carrier #39; parents. The worldwide incidence is somewhere between one in 185000 and one in 250000. MSUD disrupts the metabolism of three components of protein called branched chain amino acids (or BCAA; individually named Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine). Because of this metabolic blip individuals have to strictly monitor and control their diet, lifestyle and biochemistry, as well as avoid alcohol and certain types of medication. This stops the BCAA levels building up inside the body, thus maintaining health. If the BCAA levels get too people with MSUD become life-threateningly ill, as well as the urine, ear wax, breath and sweat smelling of Maple Syrup (usually how the disorder is diagnosed in infants). The only out-and-out cure for symptoms of MSUD is a liver transplant, but the person will still be a carrier and have to watch for rejection/take immunosuppressants for life. The best place in the world for metabolic transplants - the Children #39;s hospital in Pitsburgh, has a 90% success rate in liver transplantation. However, this is a procedure which I do not feel would be right for me at this time, and therefore I continue to follow my management protocol. I say this is the video I #39;promised #39; as I #39;d planned to upload a different one earlier, but this one was ready sooner!

By: catherinespark

View original post here:
Low protein foods - Video


  1. Biochemistry