Cell membrane

FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to 9MW2821

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

SHANGHAI, Feb. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovative biopharmaceutical company with entire industry chain, announces that its self-developed novel ADC drug targeting Nectin-4 (R&D Code: 9MW2821) has been granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of advanced, recurrent, or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (hereinafter referred to as "ESCC").

Key Points: 
  • SHANGHAI, Feb. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovative biopharmaceutical company with entire industry chain, announces that its self-developed novel ADC drug targeting Nectin-4 (R&D Code: 9MW2821) has been granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of advanced, recurrent, or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (hereinafter referred to as "ESCC").
  • 9MW2821 is the world's first Nectin-4-targeting drug to disclose clinical efficacy data for the indication of EC.
  • After injection, 9MW2821 can specifically bind to Nectin-4 on the cell membrane surface, be internalized and release cytotoxic drug, and induce the apoptosis of tumor cells.
  • 9MW2821 is also the first to disclose preliminary clinical efficacy data for the indication of CC among drugs with the same target in the world.

ChromaDex Supports the US Military with its Industry Leading NAD+ Supplement, Tru Niagen®

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

In a gesture of gratitude and further support US troops, ChromaDex has launched an exclusive program that offers Tru Niagen products to active and veteran Military Service Members.

Key Points: 
  • In a gesture of gratitude and further support US troops, ChromaDex has launched an exclusive program that offers Tru Niagen products to active and veteran Military Service Members.
  • "We are honored that Tru Niagen will play a role in the health and wellness of our troops,” said Rob Fried, CEO of ChromaDex.
  • For more information about Tru Niagen’s military discount program, please visit https://discover.truniagen.com/military/ .
  • If you are an active or veteran US Military Service Member interested in purchasing Tru Niagen, please email [email protected] for more details.

Kanazawa University research: Sodium channel investigation

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

KANAZAWA, Japan, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications a high-speed atomic force microscopy study of the structural dynamics of sodium ion channels in cell membranes.

Key Points: 
  • KANAZAWA, Japan, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications a high-speed atomic force microscopy study of the structural dynamics of sodium ion channels in cell membranes.
  • An important open question is whether the voltage sensor domains dissociate from the pore domains when the channel closes.
  • One is the sodium channel of a particular bacterium (Arcobacter butzleri), the other two are mutants thereof.
  • In recent years, researchers at Kanazawa University have further developed HS-AFM so that it can be applied for studying biochemical molecules and biomolecular processes in real-time.

Kanazawa University research: Sodium channel investigation

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

KANAZAWA, Japan, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications a high-speed atomic force microscopy study of the structural dynamics of sodium ion channels in cell membranes.

Key Points: 
  • KANAZAWA, Japan, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications a high-speed atomic force microscopy study of the structural dynamics of sodium ion channels in cell membranes.
  • An important open question is whether the voltage sensor domains dissociate from the pore domains when the channel closes.
  • One is the sodium channel of a particular bacterium (Arcobacter butzleri), the other two are mutants thereof.
  • In recent years, researchers at Kanazawa University have further developed HS-AFM so that it can be applied for studying biochemical molecules and biomolecular processes in real-time.

Neurohacker Collective and ChromaDex Partner to Optimize Cellular Health with the Debut of Qualia NAD+

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, December 12, 2023

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurohacker Collective, an acclaimed American science team that has been formulating advanced nutritional supplements since 2015, has just created an NAD+ supplement called Qualia NAD+ that tackles the challenge of boosting NAD+ levels in aging Americans.*

Key Points: 
  • "We look forward to this partnership with Neurohacker Collective as the unique Qualia NAD+ formulation will expand the positive effects of our precious Niagen to more people worldwide.
  • "*
    In the last decade, science has discovered countless links between healthy aging, and maintaining high levels of the molecule NAD+.
  • This is because NAD+ plays an essential role in vital cellular processes including mitochondrial function, cellular energy production, and DNA repair.
  • "*
    Qualia NAD+ became available through neurohacker.com beginning in early October, with an expanded product launch anticipated in additional channels shortly.

How do bacteria actually become resistant to antibiotics?

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023

“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”, originally coined by Friedrich Nietzsche in 1888, is a perfect description of how bacteria develop antibiotic resistance.

Key Points: 
  • “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”, originally coined by Friedrich Nietzsche in 1888, is a perfect description of how bacteria develop antibiotic resistance.
  • Contrary to a common belief, antibiotic resistance is not about your body becoming resistant to antibiotics.

How bacteria adapt

  • The ability for bacteria to adapt lies in part with their astonishing rate of reproduction.
  • While most changes are bad, sometimes they can help the bacteria grow in the presence of an antibiotic.
  • This evolution of resistance can be seen by growing bacteria on a large agar plate (a nutrient support that bacteria like to grow on) with zones of increasing antibiotic levels.

They also exchange genetic material

  • The other key mechanism enabling bacterial resistance is the exchange of genetic information between bacteria.
  • In addition to the main chunk of DNA that encodes the bacterial genome, bacteria can host circular DNA snippets called plasmids.
  • Plasmid exchange usually occurs by direct physical contact between bacteria.

4 ways bacteria resist

  • Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus have a thick cell wall enclosing a lipid membrane.
  • Antibiotics can hijack these entry routes, but bacteria can modify the cell wall, cell membrane and entry proteins to block antibiotic penetration.
  • For example, bacteria increase the thickness of the cell wall to resist antibiotics like vancomycin.
  • Bacteria have machinery known as efflux pumps, which regurgitate unwanted molecules from within the bacteria.
  • Bacteria can alter the pump so it is more effective at removing the antibiotic, or they can simply make more pumps.
  • Antibiotics, like most other drugs, generally work by blocking the function of important enzymes within the bacteria.
  • If bacteria alter the target shape by changing the DNA/protein sequence, the antibiotic (key) can no longer bind to its target (lock).

Bacteria vs antibiotics

  • While bacteria have developed mechanisms to resist antibiotics, these adaptations can come at a “fitness” cost.
  • Bacteria may grow more slowly, or can be killed more easily by another antibiotic.
  • This has led to the concept of “collateral sensitivity” to prevent or overcome resistance when treating patients, by using pairs of antibiotics.


Mark Blaskovich receives funding from a range of government, not-for-profit and commercial organisations for research into antibiotic discovery and development. He is affiliated with AAMRNet (Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Network), an organisation promoting improved care and development of antibiotics and antibiotic alternatives.

Engineered 'living materials' could help clean up water pollution one day

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Water pollution is both an environmental and humanitarian issue that can affect ecosystems and human health alike.

Key Points: 
  • Water pollution is both an environmental and humanitarian issue that can affect ecosystems and human health alike.
  • We’re hopeful that the materials we’re developing could be one tool available to help combat this problem.
  • Engineering a living material
    The “engineered living material” our team has been working on contains programmed bacteria embedded in a soft hydrogel material.
  • The hydrogel that forms the base of the material has similar properties to Jell-O – it’s soft and made mostly of water.

Nobel prize in medicine awarded to mRNA pioneers – here's how their discovery was integral to COVID vaccine development

Retrieved on: 
Monday, October 2, 2023

The rapid development of these vaccines changed the course of the pandemic, providing protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Key Points: 
  • The rapid development of these vaccines changed the course of the pandemic, providing protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
  • Their discovery was not only integral to COVID-19 vaccine development, but may also lead to the development of many other therapies – such as vaccines for cancer.

Life’s work

    • It’s made in the body from our very own DNA in a process called translation.
    • DNA is our special encoded handbook of instructions for manufacturing proteins, which are the building blocks for material in the body.
    • The cells then make whatever protein they’ve been instructed to, such as haemoglobin for helping red blood cells carry oxygen around the body.
    • The researchers faced two major challenges as they began their work.
    • Karikó and Weissman’s research had successfully eliminated the obstacles that had previously stood in the way of using mRNA clinically.

COVID vaccines

    • Researchers had already been working on developing mRNA vaccines before the pandemic, such as a vaccine for Ebola that didn’t receive much commercial interest.
    • This produced a harmless COVID particle which our cells then replicated, allowing our bodies to protect us from severe COVID infections when it encountered the real virus.
    • Studies have also shown mRNA vaccines might be useful in treating certain types of cancer.

Psychedelics plus psychotherapy can trigger rapid changes in the brain − new research at the level of neurons is untangling how

Retrieved on: 
Monday, October 2, 2023

Learning new skills correlates with changes in the brain, as evidenced by neuroscience research with animals and functional brain scans in people.

Key Points: 
  • Learning new skills correlates with changes in the brain, as evidenced by neuroscience research with animals and functional brain scans in people.
  • Presumably, if you master Calculus 1, something is now different in your brain.
  • Clinicians and scientists know there are times the brain can make rapid, enduring changes.
  • And here’s where it gets really interesting: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy appears to tap into this natural neural mechanism.

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy

    • However, it can be conceptualized as an altered state of consciousness with distortions of perception, modified sense of self and rapidly changing emotions.
    • Presumably there is a relaxation of the higher brain control, which allows deeper brain thoughts and feelings to emerge into conscious awareness.
    • Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy combines the psychology of talk therapy with the power of a psychedelic experience.
    • Researchers have described cases in which subjects report profound, personally transformative experiences after one six-hour session with the psychedelic substance psilocybin, taken in conjunction with psychotherapy.

A mechanism for psychedelic-induced change

    • Psychedelics such as DMT, the active chemical in the plant-based psychedelic ayahuasca, stimulate a receptor cell type, called 5-HT2A.
    • It’s only the 5-HT2A receptor inside the cell that facilitates rapid change in neuronal structure.
    • And it’s possible psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy uses this naturally occurring neural mechanism to facilitate healing.

A word of caution

    • The friend had a mystical experience and came away feeling deeper connections to her family and friends.
    • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 did approve ketamine, in conjunction with an antidepressant, to treat depression in adults.
    • Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with MDMA (often called ecstasy or molly) for PTSD and psilocybin for depression are in Phase 3 trials.

Preclinical Study Builds on Growing Body of Evidence Showcasing Exogenous Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) Must be Converted to Nicotinamide Riboside (NR), Making NR a More Efficient Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) Precursor to NMN

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 24, 2023

The results indicate that NMN is primarily converted to nicotinamide and nicotinamide riboside (NR) before being utilized for NAD+ synthesis, with only a small portion of NMN being directly incorporated into NAD+.

Key Points: 
  • The results indicate that NMN is primarily converted to nicotinamide and nicotinamide riboside (NR) before being utilized for NAD+ synthesis, with only a small portion of NMN being directly incorporated into NAD+.
  • These results build on a growing body of research demonstrating that NMN cannot cross the cell membrane directly and must first be converted to NR.
  • Because NR can cross the cell membrane directly, this data, along with other science, indicates that NR is a more efficient NAD+ precursor than NMN.
  • NR and NMN are chemically identical except for a phosphate group present within the structure of NMN.