Ana Rodríguez, Author at Baylor College of Medicine Blog Network

Image of the Month: What causes myotonic dystrophy, type1

September 5, 2017 alternative splicing, CELF1 and MBNL proteins, CTG repeat, CUGexp, DM1, DMPK gene, MEF2 transcription factor, muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy, RNA splicing

Myotonic dystrophy, type 1 (DM1) is the second most common cause of muscular dystrophy and numerous other muscle disorders that affect tens of thousands of

From The Labs

A 12-hour biological clock coordinates essential bodily functions

August 31, 2017 12-hour biological clock, Biological clocks, circadian rhythm, circatidal rhythm, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, Research

It’s not a good idea to disturb the circadian rhythm on a regular basis. For instance, experimental evidence shows that night-shift workers who periodically change

From The Labs

How Gata4 helps mend a broken heart

August 14, 2017 Cardiac regeneration, cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, fibrosis, Gata4, heart attack, heart failure, scar tissue, tissue reprograming

During a heart attack, blood stops flowing into the heart; starved for oxygen, part of the heart muscle dies. The heart muscle does not regenerate;

From The Labs

Follistatin: a key player in embryo implantation

August 9, 2017 assisted reproductive technologies, decidualization, embryo implantation, female fertility, Fertility, Follistatin, in vitro fertilization

The complex process of embryo implantation in the uterus has raised interest among researchers in the field in part because it fails in about half

From The Labs

A mouse model of human brown fat

August 3, 2017 adipocytes, animal model, Brown fat, human brown fat, metabolism, mitochondria

When it gets cold around you, your body turns up the heat to maintain its normal temperature. The heat is produced by brown adipose tissue,

From The Labs

Image of the Month: Mechanisms of cancer survival

August 1, 2017 alternative splicing, cancer survival, CD44, EGFR signaling, Image of the month, PI3K/Akt signaling

Among other studies, the lab of Dr. Chonghiu Cheng is pioneering research projects to better undertsand the role alternative splicing plays in cancer. “We have been

From The Labs

What activates the PI3K pathway, the most commonly mutated pathway in cancer that can be targeted by drugs?

July 31, 2017 cancer mutations, Cancer pathways, IDH1 gene, personalized medicine, PI3K pathway, The Cancer Genome Atlas, VHL gene

The PI3K pathway has a number of diverse functions, including altering the cell’s metabolism and driving cell growth and proliferation. The PI3K pathway also is

From The Labs

A new HER2 mutation leads to a clinical trial and to a promising diagnostic tool for metastatic breast cancer

July 27, 2017 circulating tumor DNA, clinical trial, HER2 gene, Metastatic breast cancer, neratinib

There is a group of metastatic breast cancers that has the HER2 gene amplified – the cells have many copies of it – which leads

From The Labs

CD44s, not CD44v, contributes to cancer survival

July 25, 2017 Akt pathway, alternative splicing, cancer survival, CD44, EGFR signaling

Cells may stray away from their normal function in a number of ways. For example, it’s been known for some time that in a number

From The Labs

Bacteria and mitochondria have a common language

July 20, 2017 C. elegans, fat metabolism, Hedgehog, microbiome, mitochondria, NR5A, Patched

It’s not news that microbes can alter the physiology of the organisms in which they live, but the actual molecular mechanisms that mediate their interactions