Curated News: Cell (journal)

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A special strain of soil bacteria has the paradoxical ability to produce highly toxic compounds to protect itself from other organisms without harming itself.

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Yale Cancer Center (YCC) scientists have filled in a key gap in understanding the unusual route by which the Human papillomavirus (HPV) infects cells.

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A study by researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore has revealed that RUNX proteins are integral to efficient DNA repair via the Fanconi Anemia (FA) pathway.

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For the first time, Mount Sinai researchers have identified a way to make large numbers of immune cells that can help prevent cancer reoccurrence, according to a study published in August in Cell Reports.

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Blocking nuclear gateways that traffic cancer-promoting molecules to nucleus, could offer a new way to target aggressive cancer.

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- Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U), in collaboration with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, have generated the first single cell resolution atlas of genes that control the formation of breast tissue. The atlas provides a comprehensive molecular map that will be used to help researchers understand how breast cancers form and to pinpoint new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat the disease.

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Researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and collaborators have identified a way to expand blood-forming, adult stem cells from human umbilical cord blood (hUCB).

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Endocrinologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have shown for the first time that brown fat can exert control over skeletal muscle function.

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A new study finds that the class of neurons responsible for transmitting information from the inner ear to the brain is composed of three molecularly distinct subtypes. The findings could inform efforts to develop therapeutic strategies to treat or protect against hearing loss.

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Researchers at Columbia found that a gene associated with an autoimmune form of hair loss may be activated to boost cancer immunotherapy.

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Mice fed a fattening diet develop new liver circadian rhythms that impact the way fat is accumulated and simultaneously burned. The team found that as liver fat production increases, surprisingly, so does the body’s ability to burn fat. These opposing physiological processes reach their peak activity each day around 5 p.m., illustrating an unexpected connection between overeating, circadian rhythms, and fat accumulation in the liver.

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“Percolation” theory is helping explain how communities of bacteria can effectively relay signals across long distances. Once regarded as simple microorganisms, communities of bacteria have been found to employ a strategy we use to brew coffee and extract oil from the sea. Percolation helps the microscopic community thrive and survive threats.

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In a new study, published in this week’s issue of Cell Reports, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine scrutinized the whole genome sequences of 18 induced pluripotent stem cell lines derived from skin cells that they had reprogrammed to identify and characterize somatic mutations.

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Scientists at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus have taken detailed pictures of the entire brain of an adult female fruit fly using transmission electron microscopy.

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Using genetic sequencing, scientists have revealed the complete DNA makeup of more than 100 aggressive prostate tumors, pinpointing important genetic errors these deadly tumors have in common. The study lays the foundation for finding new ways to treat prostate cancer, particularly for the most aggressive forms of the disease.

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Supplementing a single protein found in the spinal cord could help prevent symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to a new study out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Researchers found high levels of the protein—called mitofusion 2 or Mfn2—prevented nerve degeneration, muscle atrophy, and paralysis in a mouse model of the disease. Since Mfn2 is often depleted during Lou Gehrig’s, the new study suggests supplementing it could be a novel therapeutic approach for the disease.

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Travel by airplane has opened the door to experiencing different cultures and exploring natural wonders. That is, if you can get past the jet lag. But what if you could take control of the brain's daily timing system? Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis unlocked a cure for jet lag in mice by activating a small subset of the neurons involved in setting daily rhythms, as reported in a July 12 advance online publication of Neuron.

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Scientists have defined the structure and key features of a human immune-surveillance protein that guards against cancer and bacterial and viral infections The identification of two human-specific variations in the protein closes a critical knowledge gap in immunology and cancer biology The variations explain why the human protein is more precise and more selective than mammalian forms of the protein and why it targets certain types of DNA but ignores others The findings can inform the design of more precisely targeted immune therapies against cancer and a range of immune-mediated diseases

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UCLA researchers have found that the PGC-1α gene, previously known to control human metabolism, also controls the equilibrium of bone and fat in bone marrow and also how an adult stem cell expresses its final cell type. The findings could lead to a better understanding of the disruption of bone-to-fat ratio in bone marrow and its health consequences, and point to the gene as a therapeutic target in the treatment of osteoporosis and skeletal aging.

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Researchers discovered an unexpected twist in the battle versus tumors. Researchers have found that some tumor cells display not only a weapon, but also a brake, essentially becoming a neutralizing function. The unexpected mechanism could help determine whether a cancer patient will respond to immunotherapy.

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People with multiple sclerosis (MS) can find an abundance of conflicting advice suggesting that special diets will ease their symptoms. But the evidence is scanty. Laura Piccio, MD, an associate professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has launched a trial to evaluate whether drastically cutting calories twice a week can change the body’s immune environment and the gut microbiome, and potentially change the course of the disease.

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The innate NK-cell response requires a rather carefully choreographed interaction of three cell types.

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Researchers at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have discovered a new metabolic vulnerability in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that can be targeted by existing drug therapies.

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Researchers have found that cancer stem cells exist in more than one state and can change form, sliding back and forth between a dormant state and a rapidly growing state. The cell's metabolism controls this change, suggesting a possible way in to attack the stem cells.

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In this study, BIDMC researchers developed a means of tracking the activity of the far-reaching ends of retinal neurons (called boutons) as they deliver visual information to the thalamus, a brain region involved in image processing.

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Emerging CAR-T immunotherapies leverage modified versions of patient’s T-cells to target and kill cancer cells. In a new study, published June 28 online in Cell Stem Cell, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of Minnesota report that similarly modified natural killer (NK) cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) also displayed heightened activity against a mouse model of ovarian cancer.

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The research offers another approach for tackling diseases that have been considered "undruggable," including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and certain cancers.

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For the first time, scientists have directly visualized real-time structural changes in the surface protein of the influenza virus that may help the virus fuse with and enter target cells before hijacking them. Single molecules of the protein were found to stretch toward target cells, then refold and try again 5 to 10 times per second. The discovery may help develop more effective vaccines and better understand other viruses, including Ebola, HIV, and SARS.

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Investigators have identified a new cellular pathway that may help explain how arterial inflammation develops into atherosclerosis—deposits of cholesterol, fats and other substances that create plaque, clog arteries and promote heart attacks and stroke. The findings could lead to improved therapies for atherosclerosis, a leading cause of death worldwide.

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The microbiome may harbor a gene for drug resistance

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Cornell University researchers have discovered there is a division of labor among immune cells that fight invading pathogens in the body.

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Proteins commonly known as BRCA – short for BReast CAncer susceptibility gene– serve a critical role in cellular DNA repair, but when mutated they allow genetic errors to replicate, facilitating cancer development. If the BRCA repair system is disabled in cancer cells, the cells simply turn to backup repair mechanisms and adapt to alternative repair pathways, a survival mode that also underlies their ability to evade targeted drug therapies.

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Researchers led by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have identified a new subtype of prostate cancer that occurs in about 7 percent of patients with advanced disease. This subset of tumors were responsive to immunotherapy treatment.

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Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have captured the one cell that is capable of regenerating an entire organism.

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Distinct molecular mechanisms can generate the same features in different neurons, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings enhance our understanding of brain cell development.

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Las bacterias genéticamente manipuladas se muestran esperanzadoras como nuevo tratamiento contra el estreñimiento, descubrieron los investigadores del Centro para Medicina Personalizada de Mayo Clinic en un estudio realizado en ratones.

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Genetically engineered bacteria are showing promise as a new treatment for constipation, researchers at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine have discovered in a mouse study. The finding is significant in part because there are few approved constipation remedies on the market. The research is published in Cell Host & Microbe.

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In a collaborative, multi-institution effort to map the genetic and genomic changes in cancer, researchers led by UNC Lineberger's Katherine Hoadley, PhD, analyzed 137 testicular germ cell tumors for potential mutations and other molecular changes. They identified molecular features of testicular germ cell cancers that could inform future efforts to improve treatment decisions, and help monitor patients to see if their cancer has come back. Their findings were published in Cell Reports.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that a first-in-human phase I clinical trial in which neural stem cells were transplanted into participants with chronic spinal cord injuries produced measurable improvement in three of four subjects, with no serious adverse effects.

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Reporting results from a first-in-human phase I clinical trial, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that treatment with cirmtuzumab, an experimental monoclonal antibody-based drug, measurably inhibited the “stemness” of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cancer (CLL) cells — their ability to self-renew and resist terminal differentiation and senescence.

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Three brain development genes are found only in humans and may have helped drive the rapid expansion of the brain starting roughly three million years ago.

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A Ludwig Cancer Research study has uncovered an entirely novel mechanism by which cells enter a state of dormancy as tissues starved of oxygen become increasingly acidic. The study, led by Chi Van Dang, scientific director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, has potentially significant implications for cancer therapy: Large swaths of solid tumors are often deprived of oxygen, and cells in such patches are thought to be a major source of drug resistance and disease relapses.

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A new approach pioneered at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center may provide a new path towards treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with CAR T cells.

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UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that treating mice with a single spinal injection of a protein called AIBP — and thus switching “off” TLR4, a pro-inflammatory molecule — prevented and reversed inflammation and cellular events associated with pain processing. As reported May 29 by Cell Reports, the treatment alleviated chemotherapy pain in mice for two months with no side effects.

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Researchers look at the promising role played by the BMI1 gene, which could someday help mitigate or even reverse the disease.

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Scientists report they have uncovered a previously overlooked connection between neurons in two distinct areas of the mammalian brain. The neurons, they say, control the sense of touch, and their experiments in mice offer insights into mapping brain circuitry that is responsible for normal and abnormal perception and movements linked to touch.

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Early-life seizures prematurely switch on key synapses in the brain that may contribute to further neurodevelopmental delay in children with autism and other intellectual disabilities, suggests a new study from researchers at Penn Medicine.

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Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have discovered that tumor cells reprogram metabolic pathways to gain control over a type of immune cell that allows cancer growth.

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Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) give rise to blood and immune cells of the body, and are therefore essential for our survival. They are in a dormant state, but whenever new blood needs to be formed, such as after blood loss or chemotherapy, they are rapidly activated to compensate for the loss. After completing their mission, they need to go back to their dormant state. The group of Manuela Baccarini at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories, a joint venture of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna, has now shown how intracellular signalling can safeguard this delicate balance between activation and dormancy. Their results are published in the prominent journal Cell Stem Cell.

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How does a cell know when to divide? We know that hundreds of genes contribute to a wave of activity linked to cell division, but to generate that wave new research shows that cells must first grow large enough to produce four key proteins in adequate amounts.