Scientists have found that the loss of the PDCD4 protein affects cell adhesion – how cells interact and attach with neighbouring cells and structures – which could make it easier for cancer cells to detach and metastasise. PDCD4 (Programmed Cell Death Protein 4) is a well-documented tumour suppressor – a protein that helps...

Scientists have found that stopping translation elongation, a key step in protein production, can slow the growth of cancer cells. They identified that this works by reducing the energy producing capability of the mitochondria. We can use this finding to develop a treatment for cancers that are reliant on the mitochondria...

Researchers at the MRC Toxicology Unit have found that the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole impairs fertility in male fruit flies. Aripiprazole damages the mitochondria in adult male testes, resulting in increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and loss of the precursor cells that give rise to sperm. Aripiprazole...

Researchers in the Patil Lab have used a lab-based screening to identify over 150 common industrial chemicals, from pesticides to flame retardants, that have a toxic effect on bacteria found in the healthy human gut microbiome. We are exposed to many different chemicals in our modern world including pesticides and...

Researchers in the Patil Lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit have contributed liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data to a new study that has mapped changes to killifish brains that occur in ageing. The research, published in Science found that there are problems translating mRNA to protein at the translation...

Researchers in the Patil Lab have discovered that certain species of bacteria found in the human gut can take in and store PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’. Boosting these species in our gut microbiome could be a new way to protect us from the harmful effects of PFAS. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are...

Scientists in the Patil lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit have identified that some drugs and environmental contaminants alter bacterial amine metabolism. Biogenic amines are linked to diseases including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), neurological disorders and cancer. Understanding how amine production by bacteria is...

Researchers at the MRC Toxicology Unit have identified that the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole shows similar gastrointestinal side effects in fruit flies as in humans. For the first time they linked the mitochondria damaging effects of aripiprazole to death of the cells lining the intestine. Feeding the flies with an...

Researchers in the MacFarlane lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit have identified that a protein called TAp73 controls mitochondrial function in ciliated cells that line our airways. Ciliated cells are essential to clear mucus from our airways to maintain lung function. As this process is defective in diseases such as Chronic...

New research from the Thaventhiran lab in collaboration with the groups of Florian Hollfelder , Marko Hyvonen , Nick Matheson and Charlotte Deane establishes a new, generalised technology for finding potentially therapeutic antibodies in response to infectious disease outbreaks faster than currently possible.