Related papers: The insulin-RB synapse in health and disease: cell…
In 1994, I conjectured that insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) acts as an inhibitor of malignant transformation by degrading insulin and thus preventing this major growth-stimulatory hormone from binding and thereby inactivating the…
As I compress on the canvas of a few pages here major results of my research on the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (RB) spreading over the past 15 years, an exciting picture emerges on this unique host molecule which surpasses in…
Fifteen years ago, a structural analysis of the hormone insulin and the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (RB) revealed that they may physically interact with one another. Subsequently, an RB peptide corresponding to the proposed RB…
Recently, structural analysis of the human transferrin and growth hormone (GH) amino acid sequences has unravelled that they harbor a motif identical to a pattern found in viral oncoproteins known to bind the primarily nuclear tumor…
The multiple worlds of genetically manipulated laboratory organisms such as transgenic mice or worms with certain gene mutations are somewhat reminiscent of parallel worlds in quantum mechanics. So are various models of aging tested in such…
Significant overweight represents a major health problem in industrialized countries. Besides its known metabolic origins, this condition may also have an infectious cause, as recently postulated. Here, it is surmised that the potentially…
Miniaturization is a hallmark of modern technologies. Notably, this feature has not spared molecular biology and its potential applications. Towards developing more effective therapeutics against cancer, studies began to explore more than a…
Although the immune response is often regarded as acting to suppress tumor growth, it is now clear that it can be both stimulatory and inhibitory. The interplay between these competing influences has complex implications for tumor…
Counter-regulatory elements maintain dynamic equilibrium ubiquitously in living systems. The most prominent example, which is critical to mammalian survival, is that of pancreatic {\alpha} and {\beta} cells producing glucagon and insulin…
Several studies have developed dynamical models to understand the underlying mechanisms of insulin signaling, a signaling cascade that leads to the translocation of glucose, the human body's main source of energy. Fortunately, reaction…
The phase-separation occurring in a system of mutually interacting proteins that can bind on specific sites of a chromatin fiber is here investigated. This is achieved by means of extensive Molecular Dynamics simulations of a simple polymer…
The glutamate metabotropic receptor 1 (GRM1) drives oncogenesis when aberrantly activated in melanoma and several other cancers. Metabolomics reveals that patient-derived xenografts with GRM1-positive melanoma tumors exhibit elevated plasma…
Theoretical and computational tools that can be used in the clinic to predict neoplastic progression and propose individualized optimal treatment strategies to control cancer growth is desired. To develop such a predictive model, one must…
We present a new experimental-computational technology of inferring network models that predict the response of cells to perturbations and that may be useful in the design of combinatorial therapy against cancer. The experiments are…
In the tumour microenvironment, cancer cells directly interact with both the immune system and the stroma. It is firmly established that the immune system, historically believed to be a major part of the body's defence against tumour…
Immune cells coordinate their efforts for the correct and efficient functioning of the immune system (IS). Each cell type plays a distinct role and communicates with other cell types through mediators such as cytokines, chemokines and…
Diabetes mellitus is a global health crisis characterized by poor blood sugar regulation, impacting millions of people worldwide and leading to severe complications and mortality. Although Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) has a lower number…
We model the interaction between the immune system and tumor cells including a time delay to simulate the time needed by the latter to develop a chemical and cell mediated response to the presence of the tumor. The results are compared with…
Intervertebral discs are avascular and maintain immune privilege. However, during intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), this barrier is disrupted, leading to extensive immune cell infiltration and localized inflammation. In degenerated…
It is a well-established fact that tumors up-regulate glucose consumption to meet increasing demands for rapidly available energy by switching to purely glycolytic mode of glucose metabolism. What is often neglected is that cytotoxic cells…