Curated News: Cell (journal)

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths globally and a top cause of cancer deaths in the Military Health System. However, the ability to determine which of these patients have aggressive tumors and which will respond better to certain treatments – could soon be available through the collective analysis of proteins and genomes, according to a new study published Nov. 15 in Cell Reports Medicine, led by researchers at the Uniformed Services University (USU).

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Researchers at the Icahn Mount Sinai have identified 35 genes that are particularly highly expressed in people with long-term Lyme disease. These genes could potentially be used as biomarkers to diagnose patients with the condition, which is otherwise difficult to diagnose and treat. The findings, published November 15 in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, may also lead to new therapeutic targets. The study is the first to use transcriptomics as a blood test to measure RNA levels in patients with long-term Lyme disease.

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Cocaine disrupts the balance of microbes in the guts of mice, part of a cycle of waxing and waning neurochemicals that can enhance the drug’s effects in the brain. But the same chemicals may also be harnessed to prevent addiction, according to new research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.Cocaine increases levels of a hormone called norepinephrine in users’ intestines, triggering an explosion of growth of proteobacteria, a family of microbes that includes the common and sometimes harmful bacterium E.

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In the battle of the sexes, women beat men in their ability to recover from kidney injury, but the reasons are not well understood. A study led by Duke Health researchers provides some insights: Females, it turns out, have an advantage at the molecular level that protects them from a form of cell death that occurs in injured kidneys. This protection could be exploited as a potential therapeutic.

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Suggests a more proactive, innate immune response among females

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Scientists in the U.S. and UK illuminated the molecular events underlying an inherited movement and neurodegenerative disorder known as ARSACS – Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, named for two Quebec valleys where the first cases were found.

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As researchers glean new insights into the dynamic inner world of the human immune system, it has become increasingly clear that mitochondria are critical regulators of how our bodies respond to disease.

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Mount Sinai researchers have catalogued thousands of sites in the brain where RNA is modified throughout the human lifespan in a process known as adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing, offering important new avenues for understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain development and how they factor into both health and disease.

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A faulty gene, rather than a faulty diet, may explain why some people gain excessive weight even when they don’t eat more than others, UT Southwestern researchers at the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense have discovered.

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The parasite Toxoplasma is carried by a large portion of the global human population.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated in a mouse model that a specific type of T cell, one of the body’s potent immune defenses, produces cytokines that are necessary for the body to acquire immunity against fungal pathogens.

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The discovery that different bone-forming stem cells are responsible for different aspects of bone maintenance and repair will allow us to focus future bone regeneration efforts

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A paper in Cell Reports Medicine details the efficacy of H84T-BanLec against all known human-infecting coronaviruses, including MERS, the original SARS, and SARS-CoV2, including the omicron variant.

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Two drugs -- one brand new -- reverse pancreatic cell changes that presage one of the hardest cancers to treat. Tested in cells, the drugs would be a promising early cancer treatment if they work in clinical trials.

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The classic view of pain is that it protects by detecting and signaling the presence of harmful agents, but new research shows pain can shield the gut more directly. Experiments in mice show that activated pain neurons induce intestinal cells to release mucus that coats and protects the intestine both under normal conditions and during inflammation. The findings raise concerns about long-term use of certain medications that suppress protective pain signaling in conditions such as colitis and migraine.

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Cleveland Clinic researchers have identified a common diabetes medication, metformin, as a possible treatment for atrial fibrillation. The study, published in Cell Reports Medicine, built on ongoing collaborative Cleveland Clinic research to support further investigation into metformin as a drug repurposing candidate. Researchers used advanced computation and genetic sequencing to determine that metformin’s targets overlap significantly with genes dysregulated in atrial fibrillation.

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Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have made a significant advance in the promising field of cellular reprogramming and organ regeneration, and the discovery could play a major role in future medicines to heal damaged hearts.

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First-of-its-kind dissection of adipose and muscle tissues reveal single-cell changes in metabolic tissues

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The world’s whitest paint – seen in this year’s edition of Guinness World Records and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” – keeps surfaces so cool that it could reduce the need for air conditioning.

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Case Western Reserve University researchers have identified a mechanism in brain tissue that may explain why women are more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease—a finding that they say could help lead to new medicines to treat the disease. The researchers found that the female brain shows higher expression of a certain enzyme compared to males, resulting in greater accumulation of a protein called tau.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a pathway in the brains of mice that is activated when the animals see other mice scratching, but that pathway does not run through the visual cortex.

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An obscure family of viruses, already endemic in wild African primates and known to cause fatal Ebola-like symptoms in some monkeys, is “poised for spillover” to humans, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research published online Sept. 30 in the journal Cell.

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An international team of scientists, co-led by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has created the first pan-cancer mycobiome atlas — a survey of 35 types of cancer and their associated fungi

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Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a specific gut bacterium involved in the progression of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after antibiotic treatment of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and discovered that nutritional supplementation can prevent antibiotic-induced GVHD in preclinical models, according to a study published today in Cell.

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The researchers found the cancer cells that survive the first round of radiotherapy or chemotherapy do so by mutating during the post-treatment minimal residual disease (MRD) or dormant state.

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University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers and their collaborators have solved a decades-old mystery about how E. coli and other bacteria are able to move.

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UC San Diego researchers have for the first time discovered a pattern of DNA mutations that links bladder cancer to tobacco smoking. The work could help researchers identify what environmental factors, such as exposure to tobacco smoke and UV radiation, cause cancer in certain patients. It could also lead to more customized treatments for a patient’s specific cancer.

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Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital identified the mechanism by which the disorder enhances the ability to discriminate between sounds as interneuron hyperexcitability in the auditory cortex.

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Fat cells, or adipocytes, that grow in close proximity to breast cancers can shift into other cell types that promote tumor growth, a new study by UT Southwestern researchers suggests. The findings, published in Cell Reports, could lead to new ways to fight breast cancer, a disease that is diagnosed in more than 300,000 U.S. women each year and kills nearly 45,000 annually.

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The genetic fingerprint of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis shows that the members of this evolutionarily very old animal phylum use the same gene cascades for the differentiation of neuronal cell types as more complex organisms. These genes are also responsible for the balance of all cells in the organism throughout the anemone’s life. The results were published by a team of developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau of the University of Vienna in "Cell Reports".

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As the world gets warmer, the use of power-hungry air conditioning systems is projected to increase significantly, putting a strain on existing power grids and bypassing many locations with little or no reliable electric power.

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Fungal pathogens have a major global impact upon human health – they are often difficult to diagnose and treat, and there is an urgent need for better diagnostics and more effective antifungal treatments.

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A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown that commercially available rapid antigen tests can detect past and present variants of concern and has identified potential mutations that may impact test performance in the future.

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Researchers from Cleveland Clinic’s Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) found that disruption of a cellular structure, known as the actin cytoskeleton, is a “priming signal” for the body to respond to a virus. These findings, published in Cell this week, potentially lay the groundwork for development of new anti-viral vaccines and treatments.

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Researchers at Tufts University have devised rules for a faster, more effective way to identify potential new drug cocktails against tuberculosis.

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A set of interacting molecules in immune cells of the gut is responsible for preventing the inflammation seen in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), UT Southwestern researchers report in a new study. The findings, published in Cell Reports, suggest a new drug target for treating IBD and related conditions.

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Obesity can give rise to a variety of health concerns. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—a type of fatty liver disease that might progress to cancer—is particularly prevalent among obese people.

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A fungus that is a common cause of fungal meningitis undergoes a remarkable transformation once it enters the body, allowing it to infect the brain, according to new research by scientists at University of Utah Health. Studies in mice show that as the fungal intruder travels through the body, it shrinks and acquires characteristics that help infection to spread, all in a matter of days. The discovery could lead to new strategies for blocking Cryptococcus neoformans infection and preventing detrimental effects on the host.

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A team of researchers has discovered a way to convert 100% of carbon dioxide captured from industrial exhaust into ethylene, a key building block for plastic products.

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Calorie restriction has long been associated with reduced seizures in epilepsy.