Volume 1.23 | Sep 28 - Pancreatic Cell News

Pancreatic Cell News 1.23, September 28, 2010.

In this issue: Science News | Current Publications | Industry News | Policy News | Events

TOP STORY

Withdrawal of Alcohol Promotes Regression While Continued Alcohol Intake Promotes Persistence of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Pancreatic Injury in Alcohol-Fed Rats

Induction of pancreatic stellate cell (PSC) apoptosis upon alcohol withdrawal is a key mechanism mediating the resolution of pancreatic fibrosis. Conversely, continued alcohol intake perpetuates pancreatic injury by inhibiting apoptosis and promoting activation of PSCs. [Gut]

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SCIENCE NEWS

Protein Key to Growth of Pancreatic Cancer
Researchers found that nearly three quarters of pancreatic cancer tumors had high levels of a protein known as P110gamma. In laboratory experiments, when production of this protein was blocked, the cancer cells stopped growing. [Press release from EurekAlert! discussing online prepublication in Clinical Cancer Research]

CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)

DIABETES

Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein Enhances Human Beta Cell Proliferation and Function with Associated Induction of Cyclin-Dependent-Kinase 2 and Cyclin E Expression
Parathyroid hormone-related protein(1-36) peptide enhances human beta cell proliferation as well as function, with associated upregulation of two specific cell cycle activators, which together can induce human beta cell proliferation several-fold. [Diabetes]

Targeted Inactivation of Kinesin-1 in Pancreatic Beta Cells In Vivo Leads to Insulin Secretory Deficiency
In addition to being essential for maintaining glucose homeostasis and regulating beta cell function, Kif5b may be involved in beta cell development by regulating beta cell proliferation and insulin vesicle synthesis. [Diabetes]

Quercetin Potentiates Insulin Secretion and Protects INS-1 Pancreatic Beta Cells Against Oxidative Damage via the ERK1/2 Pathway
Quercetin potentiated glucose and glibenclamide-induced insulin secretion and protected beta cells against oxidative damage. The study suggested that ERK1/2 played a major role in those effects. [Br J Pharmacol]

Dachshund Homologues Play a Conserved Role in Islet Cell Development
Both zebrafish and mice expressed a single dominant Dachshund homologue in the pancreatic endocrine lineage, and in both species loss of this homologue reduced the numbers of all islet cell types including the insulin-producing beta cells. [Dev Biol]

PANCREATIC CANCER

Gamma-Tocotrienol Inhibits Pancreatic Tumors and Sensitizes Them to Gemcitabine Treatment by Modulating the Inflammatory Microenvironment
Findings suggest that gamma-tocotrienol can inhibit the growth of human pancreatic tumors and sensitize them to gemcitabine by suppressing of NF-kappaB-mediated inflammatory pathways linked to tumorigenesis. [Cancer Res]

Key Role of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Class IB in Pancreatic Cancer
Data represent the first identification of a tumor-specific accumulation of the PI3K isoform p110gamma in human cancer. [Clin Cancer Res]

The Ecto-Enzyme CD38 is a NAADP Synthase Which Couples Receptor Activation to Ca2+ Mobilization from Lysosomes in Pancreatic Acinar Cells
Researchers propose that CD38 is a nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) synthase required for coupling receptor activation to NAADP-mediated Ca2+ release from lysosomal stores in pancreatic acinar cells. [J Biol Chem]

Coxsackievirus Infection Induces Autophagy-Like Vesicles and Megaphagosomes in Pancreatic Acinar Cells In Vivo
Researchers show that, in pancreatic acinar cells, coxsackievirus B3 induces the formation of abundant small autophagy-like vesicles, and permits amphisome formation. [J Virol]

Proteomic Analysis of Heat Shock-Induced Protection in Acute Pancreatitis
Researchers showed that the expression of various proteins associated with the secretory pathway was modified in the different experimental models, suggesting that modulation of this process is involved in the protective effect against pancreatic tissue damage. [J Proteome Res]

Telomeres Are Shortened in Acinar-to-Ductal Metaplasia Lesions Associated with Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia but not in Isolated Acinar-to-Ductal Metaplasias
Results indicate that isolated acinar-to-ductal metaplasias are not a precursor to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN), and support the hypothesis that PanIN-associated acinar-to-ductal metaplasias arise secondary to PanIN lesions. [Mod Pathol]

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Ca2+-Mediated Motility of Human Pancreatic Duct Cells
Expression and function of NCX1 and TRPC1 proteins were characterized in BxPc3 pancreatic cancer cells. [Am J Physiol Cell Physiol]

INDUSTRY NEWS

Sanofi May Announce ‘Critical’ Diabetes Partnerships
Sanofi-aventis SA may unveil “at least another couple critical partnerships” in diabetes in the months to come. [Bloomberg]

Type 1 Diabetes Research Gets $5 Million Boost
Maike Sander, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and cellular & molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has been awarded nearly $5 million by the Beta Cell Biology Consortium to lead an interdisciplinary team in cell therapy research for type 1 diabetes. [University of California, San Diego School of Medicine Press Release]

Biothera Receives National Cancer Institute Award for Pancreatic Cancer Study
Biothera has received a National Cancer Institute SBIR award to evaluate the therapeutic potential of its drug candidate Imprime PGG® in pancreatic cancer, the company announced. [Biothera Press Release]

NIH Awards $8 Million to UT Southwestern to Study Metabolism, Obesity-Related Inflammation
An $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will enable University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center to investigate how fat tissue “talks” to the brain and the liver to promote inflammation-related disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. [University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Press Release]

U.S. Budgets $1.9 Billion to Back New Drugs and Vaccines
The U.S. has $1.9 billion available for new biotech initiatives that can fight off the biologic threats of the future. And the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has handed out contracts worth potentially more than $100 million to help accelerate work on a range of drug and vaccine development technologies. [FierceBiotech Research]

52-Week Phase III Study Found Investigational Drug Dapagliflozin Plus Metformin Similar to Glipizide Plus Metformin in Improving Glycosylated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca announced results from a randomized, double-blind Phase III clinical study in adults with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on metformin therapy alone. [Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Press Release]

GSK Regulatory Update on Avandia Following EMA and FDA Reviews
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) confirms that following a review of Avandia® (rosiglitazone maleate) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), each agency has announced their individual regulatory decisions and the resulting actions. [GlaxoSmithKline Press Release]

POLICY NEWS

Diabetes Group Supports Stricter Drug Approval Standards
Tighter safety standards for approval of diabetes drugs are coming to Europe with the cautious support of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. [European Association for the Study of Diabetes, European Union]

European Medicines Agency Recommends Suspension of Avandia, Avandamet and Avaglim
The European Medicines Agency recommended the suspension of the marketing authorizations for the rosiglitazone-containing anti-diabetes medicines Avandia, Avandamet and Avaglim [European Medicines Agency, European Union]

FDA Significantly Restricts Access to the Diabetes Drug Avandia
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it will significantly restrict the use of the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) to patients with Type 2 diabetes who cannot control their diabetes on other medications. [Food and Drug Administration, United States]

Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Create Jobs and Promote Investment in Life Sciences
U.S. Representatives introduced bipartisan legislation that will provide tax incentives for small and mid-sized businesses to invest in life sciences research and development on a targeted basis. The Life Sciences Jobs and Investment Act of 2010 provides an opportunity to enhance medical innovation, life sciences education and job creation in the United States. [House of Representatives, United States]

NIH and FDA Announce Awards to Advance Regulatory Science
The National Institutes of Health will award $9.4 million over three years to support four research projects in regulatory science. This research is conducted in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which will contribute approximately $950,000. [National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration, United States]

NIH Releases Biennial Report of the Director
Dr. Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D, director of the National Institutes of Health, announced the release of the Biennial Report of the Director, NIH, for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. The report provides an integrated portrait of NIH research activities, making it easy for Congress, advocates and patient groups and the general public to understand the many activities of the agency. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

U.K. Research Leaders Make Final Stand Against Science Cuts
Top officials from six U.K. universities joined Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, in London in a last-ditch attempt to avert the government’s expected cuts in science funding, which will be detailed in its forthcoming comprehensive spending review, scheduled for release on 20 October. [Royal Society, United Kingdom]

European Medicines Agency Publishes First Review of Orphan Designation
The European Medicines Agency has published the first of its ‘review of orphan designation’ documents. [European Medicines Agency, European Union]

European Medicines Agency Welcomes Adoption of New Pharmacovigilance Legislation by European Parliament
The European Medicines Agency welcomes the adoption of the new pharmacovigilance legislation by the European Parliament. This is a major step towards the legislation coming into force, currently expected for mid-2012. [European Medicines Agency, European Union]

Guidance on Withdrawal of Subjects From Research: Data Retention and Other Related Issues (FR Doc. 2010-23517) [Department of Health and Human Services, United States]

Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-23947) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; Notice of Closed Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-23867) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Center for Research Resources; Notice of Closed Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-23852) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-23849) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc. 2010-23860) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc. 2010-23952) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Cancer Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc. 2010-23543) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Cancer Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc. 2010-23545) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

EVENTS (Listed by Date)

35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress
October 8-12, 2010
Milan, Italy

Fraunhofer Life Science Symposium Leipzig 2010
October 29-30, 2010
Leipzig, Germany

2010 American Pancreatic Association (APA) Annual Meeting
November 3-6, 2010
Chicago, United States

Select Biosciences 2nd International Forum on Stem Cells (2010 IFSC)
November 12-13, 2010
Tianjin, China

Australasian Pancreatic Club Annual Meeting
November 15-16, 2010
Melbourne, Australia

Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Dysfunction
January 12-17, 2011
Dillon, United States

Keystone Symposia: Obesity
January 12-17, 2011
Keystone, Colorado

2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium
January 20-22, 2011
San Francisco, United States

Epithelial Plasticity and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition
January 21-26, 2011
Vancouver, Canada

Select Biosciences 5th Annual Stem Cells World Congress
January 24-25, 2011
San Diego, United States

Phacilitate 7th Annual Cell & Gene Therapy Forum 2011
January 24-26, 2011
Washington, DC, United States

Joint Conference of the International Association of Pancreatology and the Indian Pancreas Club
February 10-13, 2011
Maradu, India

NEW American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 102nd Annual Meeting 2011
April 2-6, 2011
Orlando, United States

Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.

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