News

Cancer cells are capable of escaping chemotherapy and radiotherapy by activating a signaling pathway that prevents them from dying. Researchers led by Claus Scheidereit at the Max Delbrück Center have now described in Cell Chemical Biology two new compounds that block this escape route.

Regulatory T cells ensure that immune responses happen in a controlled way. But eating too much salt weakens these cells’ energy supply, thus rendering them dysfunctional for a while. This may have implications for autoimmunity, an international team – including Dominik Müller – reports in “Cell Metabolism.”

The mechanics of the heart rely significantly on an RNA-binding protein called RBM20. But how are such RNA-binding proteins regulated? MDC teams led by Matthias Selbach have identified corresponding phosphorylation sites, they report in "Molecular Cell”.

Changes in the gut microbiome can ultimately lead to cardiovascular disease. Yet some of the alterations appear to normalize in chronic conditions, a team led by ECRC researcher Sofia Forslund reports in "Nature Medicine". This finding may have clinical implications.

MDC researchers have discovered a previously unknown cause of cardiac hypertrophy. As they report in the journal “Genome Biology”, genetic variation results in heart cell ribosomes not working properly. This disrupts protein production, which in turn causes the heart to grow too large.

Boosting the immune system with kefir grains, developing smart road models and writing a program for chemical reactions: the winners of the 56th regional contest at Campus Berlin-Buch impressed the judges with their complete dedication and imaginative projects.

Setting out to identify all proteins that make up the sarcomere, the basic contractile unit of muscle cells, resulted in an unexpected revelation, providing experimental evidence that helps explain a fundamental mystery about how muscles work. The research was published in Nature Communications.

A protein in the cell envelope influences the rate of fatty acid uptake in cells. This is reported by MDC researchers in the journal PNAS. This process also appears to be altered in overweight people.

Using new high-resolution imaging techniques, MDC researchers and colleagues have tracked titin, the body’s largest protein, in real time throughout its entire lifecycle. The method and results could provide new insight into muscle development as well as treating damaged muscles and heart disease.

New lab in Aarhus: The Novo Nordisk Foundation funds MDC scientist Thomas Willnow to the tune of €7 million.