A new study in mice reveals that eosinophils, a type of disease-fighting white blood cell, appear to be at least partly responsible for the progression of heart muscle inflammation to heart failure in mice.
Researchers in China have discovered that a metabolic enzyme called AKR1B1 drives an aggressive type of breast cancer. The study, “AKR1B1 promotes basal-like breast cancer progression by a positive feedback loop that activates the EMT program,” which has been published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that an inhibitor of this enzyme currently used to treat diabetes patients could be an effective therapy for this frequently deadly form of cancer.
Researchers in Germany have discovered that a tumor suppressor protein thought to prevent acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can actually promote a particularly deadly form of the disease. The study, “RUNX1 cooperates with FLT3-ITD to induce leukemia,” which will be published online February 17 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that targeting this protein could be an effective treatment for certain AML patients.
Boston Children’s Hospital researchers have uncovered a new molecular pathway that inhibits the myelination of neurons in the brains of patients with the rare genetic disorder tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). The study, “Neuronal CTGF/CCN2 negatively regulates myelination in a mouse model of tuberous sclerosis complex,” which will be published online February 9 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests new ways to treat some of the neurological symptoms associated with TSC, including autism and epilepsy.
A rare and potent type of immune cell has been discovered around the brain, suggesting the cells may play a critical role in battling Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. By harnessing the cells' power, doctors may be able to develop new treatments for disease, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries – even migraines.
Defects in the body’s regulatory T cells cause inflammation and autoimmune disease by altering the type of bacteria living in the gut, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have discovered. The study, which will be published online December 19 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that replacing the missing gut bacteria, or restoring a key metabolite called inosine, could help treat children with a rare and often fatal autoimmune disease called IPEX syndrome.
Girls with a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the Nf1 gene are much more likely to lose their vision than boys with the same mutations. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis believe estrogen activates immune cells that damage the nerves necessary for sight.
A team of scientists led by Julie Saba, MD, PhD at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, has unveiled a novel role of thymic dendritic cells, which could result in new strategies to treat conditions such as autoimmune diseases, immune deficiencies, prematurity, infections, cancer, and the loss of immunity after bone marrow transplantation.
Conventional, high-dose chemotherapy treatments can cause the fibroblast cells surrounding tumors to secrete proteins that promote the tumors’ recurrence in more aggressive forms, researchers have discovered. Frequent, low-dose chemotherapy regimens avoid this effect and may therefore be more effective at treating certain types of breast and pancreatic cancer, according to the murine study “Metronomic chemotherapy prevents therapy-induced stromal activation and induction of tumor-initiating cells,” which will be published online November 23 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered that mice infected with the common gut parasite Tritrichomonas muris are at an increased risk of developing inflammatory colitis. Their findings, which have been published online in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, expand the type of gut-resident microorganism that can affect the health of their host and suggest that related parasites may cause gastrointestinal disease in humans.
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified several new biological markers to measure the progression of the inherited neurodegenerative disorder Huntington’s disease. Their findings, which will be published online November 7 ahead of issue in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, could benefit clinical trials that test new treatments for the disease.
To better understand why some people adapt well to life at high altitude while others don’t, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine studied red blood cells derived from representatives of both groups living in the Andes Mountains. The study reveals that high-altitude, low-oxygen dwellers prone to chronic mountain sickness produce massive amounts of red blood cells thanks to overproduction of the enzyme SENP1.
Researchers in Japan have discovered that the adrenergic nervous system controls when white blood cells circulate through the body, boosting the immune response by retaining T and B cells in lymph nodes at the time of day when they are most likely to encounter foreign antigens. The study, “Adrenergic control of the adaptive immune response by diurnal lymphocyte recirculation through lymph nodes,” will be published online October 31 ahead of issue in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Researchers from The Ohio State University have discovered that spinal cord injury alters the type of bacteria living in the gut and that these changes can exacerbate the extent of neurological damage and impair recovery of function. The study, “Gut dysbiosis impairs recovery after spinal cord injury,” by Kristina A. Kigerl et al., which will be published online October 17 ahead of issue in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that counteracting these changes with probiotics could aid patients’ recovery from spinal cord injuries.
Researchers have discovered that an enzyme called uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG) protects the ends of B cell chromosomes to facilitate the proliferation of these antibody-producing cells in response to infection. The study “UNG protects B cells from AID-induced telomere loss,” which will be published online October 3 ahead of issue in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, also suggests that targeting this enzyme may help treat certain types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Mice placed on a low-calorie diet are less likely to develop abdominal aortic aneurysms, according to a new study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. The paper, “Calorie restriction protects against experimental abdominal aortic aneurysms in mice,” which will be published online September 26 ahead of issue, suggests new ways to prevent the often fatal condition from occurring in humans.
A study from Emory AIDS researchers shows how the expected disease severity when someone is newly infected by HIV reflects a balance between the virus' invisibility to the host's immune system and its ability to reproduce.
Researchers have discovered that secondary infection with the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterium (or “superbug”) often kills influenza patients because the flu virus alters the antibacterial response of white blood cells, causing them to damage the patients’ lungs instead of destroying the bacterium. The study, which will be published online August 15 ahead of issue in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that inhibiting this response may help treat patients infected with both the flu virus and MRSA.
Scientists in Germany have developed a new approach that may prevent leukemia and lymphoma patients from developing graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after therapeutic bone marrow transplants. The researchers describe the successful application of their strategy in mice in “Exogenous TNFR2 activation protects from acute GvHD via host T reg cell expansion,” which will be published online August 15 ahead of issue in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
A new international collaboration involving scientists at The Scripps Research Institute opens a door to influencing the immune system, which would be useful to boost the effectiveness of vaccines or to counter autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
A team of Israeli researchers has discovered that mutations in STN1, a gene that helps maintain the ends of chromosomes, cause the rare, inherited disorder Coats plus syndrome. The study, “Mutations in STN1 cause Coats plus syndrome and are associated with genomic and telomere defects,” will be published online ahead of issue July 18 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
A new mouse model, developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is the first to show that when more of a specific biological molecule moves between different parts of nerve cells in the mouse brain, it can lead to behaviors that resembles some aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in humans.
Researchers from University College London have discovered that the widely used antiinflammatory drug HUMIRA doesn’t just work by inhibiting its target protein, TNF, but by enhancing a particular function of TNF in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The study, “Anti-TNF drives regulatory T cell expansion by paradoxically promoting membrane TNF–TNF-RII binding in rheumatoid arthritis,” which will be published online June 6 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, may help explain the divergent efficacies of different TNF-targeting drugs.
Oncologists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have successfully treated a patient with metastatic melanoma by combining two different types of immunotherapy. Cassian Yee and colleagues describe their approach in a paper, “Combined IL-21–primed polyclonal CTL plus CTLA4 blockade controls refractory metastatic melanoma in a patient,” that will be published online May 30 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Researchers at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research have discovered that the neutrophils of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients release oxidized DNA from their mitochondria that can stimulate an unwanted immune response. The study “Oxidized mitochondrial nucleoids released by neutrophils drive type I interferon production in human lupus,” which will be published online April 18 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that targeting the pathways that lead to the accumulation of this DNA and/or facilitate its removal could be new ways to treat this chronic autoimmune disease.
A study led by scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore has uncovered a key player contributing to the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, blood cell precursors which have the ability to become any type of blood cell in the body. The research findings could contribute towards better understanding of the underlying causes of blood diseases.
Potential new approaches to treating eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are described in a new study published in the February Journal of Experimental Medicine. Hongkang Xi, Menno van Lookeren Campagne, and colleagues discovered that a signaling protein, or cytokine, called IL-33, plays a key role in recruiting phagocytes to damaged retina and induces retinal degeneration. Blocking the IL-33 receptor inhibits this process and prevents injury-induced retinal degeneration.
A study led by the University of Utah School of Medicine has identified molecular mechanisms that control an immune cell’s ability to remember. They found that in helper T cells, the proteins Oct1 and OCA-B work together to put immune response genes on standby so that they are easily activated when the body is re-exposed to a pathogen. The research, which could inform strategies for developing better vaccines, was performed in collaboration with scientists from The Broad Institute and University of Michigan, and published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.