New cell imaging can identify cancer cells

March 13, 2006

Purdue University scientists say fluorescence that illuminates a specific protein within a cell's nucleus may lead to individualized cancer treatments.

The scientists, along with researches at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, say they've created a technique that automatically locates and maps proteins involved in regulating cell behavior.

Sophie Lelièvre, Purdue assistant professor of basic medical sciences, says the research results have made it possible to verify the distinction between multiplying cells that are harmless and those that are malignant.

Lelièvre and colleagues used mammary cells to analyze nuclear protein distribution that shifted depending on whether a cell was malignant, had not yet developed a specific function or was a normally functioning mature mammary cell.

"When you look at cells that don't yet have a specific function -- aren't differentiated, compared to fully differentiated cells, which are now capable of functioning as breast cells -- the organization of proteins in the nucleus varies tremendously," Lelièvre said. "Then looking at how the proteins in malignant cells are distributed, it's a totally different pattern compared to normal differentiated cells."

The research was detailed online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

4.4 /5 (7 votes)  

Rank 4.4 /5 (7 votes)
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Change in developmental timing was crucial in the evolutionary shift from dinosaurs to birds: study

At first glance, it's hard to see how a common house sparrow and a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have anything in common. After all, one is a bird that weighs less than an ounce, and the other is a dinosaur that ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created 8 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Social welfare cuts ultimately come with heavy price, researchers say

(Phys.org) -- Slashing government funding for Medicaid, food stamps and other programs that serve the poor – while politically popular with some lawmakers and many conservatives – may do more harm ...

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 24, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (22) | comments 155

Ancient Bethlehem seal unearthed in Jerusalem

Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old seal that bears the inscription "Bethlehem," the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday, in what experts believe to be the oldest artifact ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (15) | comments 24

Dollars and sense: Why are some people morally against tax?

As the U.S. presidential election campaigns heat up, the economic debate is dominated by bailouts, austerity and, inevitably, taxation. Now a new study published in Symbolic Interaction asks why tax is such an important issue ...

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (3) | comments 19

Oldest Jewish archaeological evidence on the Iberian Peninsula

German archaeologists of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena found one of the oldest archaeological evidence so far of Jewish Culture on the Iberian Peninsula at an excavation site in the south of Portugal, ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 12


Stunning image of smallest possible five-ringed structure

Scientists have created and imaged the smallest possible five-ringed structure – about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair – and you'll probably recognise its shape.

'Unzipped' carbon nanotubes could help energize fuel cells, batteries

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes riddled with defects and impurities on the outside could replace some of the expensive platinum catalysts used in fuel cells and metal-air batteries, according to scientists at ...

Computer model used to pinpoint prime materials for efficient carbon capture

When power plants begin capturing their carbon emissions to reduce greenhouse gases – and to most in the electric power industry, it's a question of when, not if – it will be an expensive undertaking.

T cells 'hunt' parasites like animal predators seek prey, study shows

By pairing an intimate knowledge of immune-system function with a deep understanding of statistical physics, a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has arrived at a surprising finding: T cells use a movement ...

Land and sea species differ in climate change response: study

(Phys.org) -- Marine and terrestrial species will likely differ in their responses to climate warming, new research by Simon Fraser University and Australia’s University of Tasmania has found.

Yale study concludes public apathy over climate change unrelated to science literacy

Are members of the public divided about climate change because they don't understand the science behind it? If Americans knew more basic science and were more proficient in technical reasoning, would public consensus match ...