Newly described stretches of super-silenced DNA reveal a fresh approach to reprogram cell identity to use in regenerative medicine studies and one day in the clinic.
A multidisciplinary team led by Scott Rodeo, MD, and Christopher Mendias, PhD, at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) has been awarded the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Clinical Research Grant in Cellular Therapy.
Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have successfully developed a method to grow hairy skin from mouse pluripotent stem cells—a discovery that could lead to new approaches to model disease and new therapies for the treatment of skin disorders and cancers.
New research shows that inflammation was modified by uterine decidual cells to facilitate implantation in placental mammals. The results of this study will be presented at the annual conference of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in San Francisco, CA on January 5, 2018.
Compared to younger adults, older people have higher rates of complications from surgery. But many problems can be avoided by intervening with assessments and risk-reduction strategies before, during and after procedures.
Individuals who have been treated for cancer are at risk for a complication called lymphedema: swelling in the body region where lymph nodes were removed, causing pain and limited function. New research and insights on the management of cancer-related lymphedema are presented in the January special issue of Rehabilitation Oncology, official journal of the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
Christiana Care Health System is joining the Strata Precision Oncology Network to offer next-generation tumor profiling at no cost to patients with advanced or rare cancers. Based on the results, eligible patients will be matched to the best available clinical trials or most innovative therapy. The project begins on Feb. 1, 2018.
Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of an ancient strain of Hepatitis B, shedding new light on a pathogen that today kills nearly one million people every year. The findings, based on data extracted from the mummified remains of a small child buried in Naples, Italy, confirm the idea that HBV has existed in humans for centuries.
Two research groups from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have independently discovered a genetic mechanism in cancer cells that influences whether they resist or respond to immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors. The scientists say the findings reveal potential new drug targets and might aid efforts to extend the benefits of immunotherapy treatment to more patients and additional types of cancer.
Specific strains of intestinal bacteria can improve the response rate to immunotherapy for patients being treated for advanced melanoma. Patients with a higher ratio of “beneficial” bacteria to “non-beneficial” bacteria all showed a clinical response: a reduction in tumor size.
The Eveland laboratory’s research findings, “Brassinosteroids modulate meristem fate and differentiation of unique inflorescence morphology in Setaria viridis”, were recently published in the journal The Plant Cell.
A new genetic-based model may explain how a common form of early-stage breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) progresses to a more invasive form of cancer say researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
For the first time, UNC School of Medicine scientists and collaborators solved the crystal structure of the activated kappa opioid receptor bound to a morphine derivative. They then created a new drug-like compound that activates only that receptor, a key step in the development of new pain meds.
Despite decades of clinical research establishing chemotherapy with thoracic radiation as the standard-of-care for the initial management of non-metastatic small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), a large percentage of U.S. patients do not receive these treatments and in turn have lower overall survival, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Researchers at UC San Diego have developed macrophage "nanosponges"—nanoparticles cloaked in the cell membranes of macrophages—that can safely remove sepsis-causing molecules from the bloodstream. In lab tests, these macrophage nanosponges improved survival rates in mice with sepsis.
A new article co-authored by Boise State Assistant Professor Neil Carter found that conservationists have wide-ranging viewpoints on how to best preserve and coexist with large carnivores, such as brown bears, gray wolves and tigers. These animals are considered to be at the top of their food chain in their native habitats.
In a commentary published in the Jan. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, UC Davis researcher William Murphy expressed cautious optimism about efforts to genetically engineer hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to temporarily resist cell death during transplantation. While these gene therapy approaches could dramatically improve patient outcomes, Murphy argues that their risks must be carefully studied in diverse models.
Similar to roadways across the country, every cell in our body has a network of paths, and a professor at Texas A&M University has zoomed in to the molecular level to research the proteins that travel along this transportation system.
Researchers at the University of Georgia have now shown that the enzyme that makes the El Tor family of V. cholerae resistant to those antibiotics has a different mechanism of action from any comparable proteins observed in bacteria so far. Understanding that mechanism better equips researchers to overcome the challenge it presents in a world with increasing antibiotic resistance. The results of this research are published in the Dec. 22, 2017 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Today’s graduate biomedical science education system is in need of comprehensive reform, two researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health argue in a new paper.
Scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, report that tiny tube-like protrusions called primary cilia on cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)—a layer of cells in the back of the eye—are essential for the survival of the retina’s light-sensing photoreceptors. The discovery has advanced efforts to make stem cell-derived RPE for transplantation into patients with geographic atrophy, otherwise known as dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the U.S. The study appears in the January 2 Cell Reports.
Researchers have applied Nobel prize-winning microscope technology to uncover an ion channel structure that could lead to new treatments for kidney stones. In a recent study published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, researchers revealed atomic-level details of the protein that serves as a passageway for calcium across kidney cell membranes.
Working with a simple mathematical model in which chance plays a key role, researchers Steve Strogatz and Bertrand Ottino-Loofler calculated how long it would take a bacterial infection or cancer cell to take over a network of healthy cells. The distribution of incubation times in most cases, they contend, is close to “lognormal” – meaning that the logarithms of the incubation periods, rather than the incubation periods themselves, are normally distributed.
Half of sepsis survivors never fully recover; Dr. Derek Angus lays out an approach to change that.
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a cell signaling pathway in mice that triggers vision loss in patients with diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion – diseases characterized by the closure of blood vessels in the retina, leading to blindness. In experiments that suppressed vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the eye, researchers were able to re-establish normal blood flow in the retina, offering a potential means of stalling or even reversing diabetes-related blindness.
Researchers identified a new, more sensitive screening test to recognize Pompe disease, a metabolic disorder affecting cellular processing of glycogen in numerous tissues of the body.
Mount Sinai researchers have discovered that normal immune cells called macrophages, which reside in healthy breast tissue surrounding milk ducts, play a major role in helping early breast cancer cells leave the breast for other parts of the body, potentially creating metastasis before a tumor has even developed, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
Through gene therapy, researchers engineered blood-forming stem cells (hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, or HSPCs) to carry chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) genes to make cells that can detect and destroy HIV-infected cells. These engineered cells persisted for more than two years
Nobel laureate Kurt Wüthrich investigates the structure of an important drug target.
Research shows that missense mutations in a cluster of just five codons in the NF1 gene are an important risk factor for severe symptoms of the genetic disease neurofibromatosis type 1. Such information is vital to help guide clinical management and genetic counseling in this complex disease.
The proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib has taken on an increasing role in the treatment of multiple myeloma, but new research from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania shows the therapy comes with the risk of cardiovascular problems in a higher than expected percentage of patients.
New research published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine highlights the pernicious effect of obesity on the long-term health of blood-making stem cells (hematopoietic stem cells). Published Dec. 27 and conducted largely in genetic models of obese mice, the study shows obesity causes durable and harmful changes to the hematopoietic stem cell compartment – the blood-making factory in our bodies.
Helper T cells move toward inflamed tissue using membrane protrusions that stabilize them and provide traction on the vasculature. Using high-resolution microscopy and global molecular analysis, the team shows that immature T cells lack these protrusions but that maturing T-cells switch on a gene expression program to create material to construct them.
Gene expression in specific cells and in specific regions can provide a more precise, neuroprotective approach than traditional treatments
A new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers identified the structural basis for how tightly bound protein complexes are broken apart to become inactivated.
Identifying complex mutations in the structure of an organism’s genome has been difficult. But in a new study published online in Nature Genetics, a research team led by J.J. Emerson, assistant professor of ecology & evolutionary biology at the Ayala School of Biological Sciences, applies new methods of genome analysis to identify these complex mutations with unprecedented resolution.
When viruses infect the body’s cells, those cells face a difficult problem. How can they destroy viruses without harming themselves? Scientists at University of Utah Health have found an answer by visualizing a tiny cellular machine that chops the viruses’ genetic material into bits.
Researchers reveal in detail how fertilization triggers destruction of a small number of proteins, which releases the “brakes” on an egg’s cell cycle. Simultaneously, vast quantities of proteins are rapidly secreted from the egg to help prevent fertilization by multiple sperm cells.
Fish sense water motion the same way humans sense sound, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Researchers discovered a gene also found in humans helps zebrafish convert water motion into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain for perception. The shared gene allows zebrafish to sense water flow direction, and it also helps cells inside the human ear sense a range of sounds.
A method developed by HHMI investigators sifts through hundreds of millions of potential targets to find a precise cancer beacon. The results may lead to better immunotherapies, which harness the immune system to attack tumors.
Every day, every inch of skin on your body comes into contact with thousands of molecules — from food, cosmetics, sweat, the microbes that call your skin home. Now researchers can create interactive 3D maps that show where each molecule lingers on your body, thanks to a new method developed by University of California San Diego and European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) researchers.
An original research report by Eun Jeong Cho et al. (University of Texas at Austin) in the January 2018 Issue of SLAS Discovery presents a newly designed biochemical assay that is rapid, sensitive, inexpensive, and high-throughput screening (HTS)-friendly to identify antagonist against aldolase A (ALDOA).
Researchers in Italy have discovered how specific versions of a protein called Numb protect the key tumor suppressor p53 from destruction. The study, which will be published December 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that the loss of these particular Numb proteins makes breast cancers more aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy, but points the way toward new therapeutic approaches that could improve patient outcome by preserving p53 levels.
The findings point the way to targeting diseases where this protein is mutated.
A shorter life may be the price an organism pays for coping with the natural assaults of daily living, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues in Japan. The scientists used fruit flies to examine the relationship between lifespan and signaling proteins that defend the body against environmental stressors, such as bacterial infections and cold temperatures. Since flies and mammals share some of the same molecular pathways, the work may demonstrate how the environment affects longevity in humans.
A single treatment of a genome editing agent partially preserved hearing in mice with genetic deafness. The work could one day help scientists treat certain forms of genetic hearing loss in humans.
Some secrets to repairing our skeletons might be found in the silky webs of spiders, according to recent experiments guided by supercomputers. Scientists involved say their results will help understand the details of osteoregeneration, or how bones repair themselves.
Researchers have identified significant mitochondrial changes that take place in cocaine addiction, and they blocked them.
In a pair of publications, researchers have shown how cells adapt to stressors—like water loss—by reprogramming their internal signaling networks. The studies describe previously unknown mechanisms that cells use to send signals between cellular machinery and avoid cell death. According to the authors, drugs that enhance the adaptation mechanisms could help cells stave off multiple diseases, including type 2 diabetes. The studies were published in Cell Reports and Molecular Cell.
Delivering drugs specifically to cancer cells is one approach researchers are taking to minimize treatment side effects. Stem cells, bacteria and other carriers have been tested as tiny delivery vehicles. Now a new potential drug carrier to treat gynecological conditions has joined the fleet: sperm. Scientistsreport in the journal ACS Nano that they have exploited the swimming power of sperm to ferry a cancer drug directly to a cervical tumor in lab tests.
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