PHILADELPHIA - Cell movement is the basic recipe of life, and all cells have the capacity to move, says Roberto Dominguez, PhD, professor of Physiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Motility albeit on a cellular spatial scale -- is necessary for wound healing, clotting, fetal development, nerve connections, and the immune response, among other functions. On the other hand, cell movement can be deleterious when cancer cells break away from tumors and migrate to set up shop in other tissues during cancer metastasis. The Dominguez team, with postdoctoral fellow David Kast, PhD, and colleagues, report online ahead of print in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology how a key cell-movement protein called IRSp53 is regulated in a resting and active state, and what this means for cancer-cell metastasis. We characterized how IRSp53 connects to the cell-motility machinery, says Kast. It does this by starting the formation of cell filopodia - extensions that form when a cell needs to move. Cells move like an inchworm, explains Dominguez. Filopodia are at the leading edge of moving cells. The trailing end of the cell follows the move forward through contraction of actin and myosin in the cytoskeleton, much like muscle … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise PHILADELPHIA - Cell movement is the basic recipe of life, and all cells have the capacity to move, says Roberto Dominguez, PhD, professor of Physiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Motility albeit on a cellular spatial scale -- is necessary for wound healing, clotting, fetal development, nerve connections, and the immune response, among other functions. On the other hand, cell movement can be deleterious when cancer cells break away from tumors and migrate to set up shop in other tissues during cancer metastasis. The Dominguez team, with postdoctoral fellow David Kast, PhD, and colleagues, report online ahead of print in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology how a key cell-movement protein called IRSp53 is regulated in a resting and active state, and what this means for cancer-cell metastasis. We characterized how IRSp53 connects to the cell-motility machinery, says Kast. It does this by starting the formation of cell filopodia - extensions that form when a cell needs to move. Cells move like an inchworm, explains Dominguez. Filopodia are at the leading edge of moving cells. The trailing end of the cell follows the move forward through contraction of actin … Continue reading →

Sarasota, FL (PRWEB) March 12, 2014 Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most commonly studied disorder when it comes to male sexual dysfunction. It is estimated that 18 million men in the US alone suffer from erectile dysfunction and that it appears to be affecting 1 in 4 males under age 40 according to a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. While the emphasis of treatments for ED focuses on relieving the symptoms, they only provide a temporary solution rather than a cure or reversing the cause. The DaSilva Institute is excited to announce the recruitment of males suffering from ED, in an IRB study, which will look at the safety, and efficacy of autologous, adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) in regenerating the causes of ED. The evidence shows that ADSCs reverses the pathophysiological changes leading to ED, rather than treating the symptoms of ED. Not only is the data in the literature compelling, but our own, in-house, results on our patients have been phenomenal, states Dr. DaSilva. The many underlying causes for ED that are being investigated range from those secondary to aging, to injury of the cavernous nerve secondary to injury, surgery and/or radiation of the prostate, … Continue reading →