A large randomized and blinded clinical trial has found no additional benefit of repeated ketamine infusions over standard inpatient care for treating major depression.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 13
Gene Expression Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy
The immune system works to identify and target invading pathogens. Specifically, our bodies work to get rid of any harmful infections by employing a two-part immune response. The first wave of immunity is the innate immune system. This initial reaction is broad and non-specific with innate cells circulating throughout the body to detect foreign pathogens. These cells that are involved include neutrophils, macrophages, eosinophils, basophils, and dendritic cells. Once cells detect an issue, they alert the rest of the body to completely filter out the infection. Importantly, the second wave of immunity, or the adaptive immune system, elicits a strong, specific response that target pathogens the innate immune system cannot neutralize.
Adaptive immunity builds to generate robust protection against aggressive diseases. The cells that make up this response include B and T cells. B cells are mainly responsible for generating antibodies to neutralize and signal infections throughout the body. T cells are the drivers that get rid of disease. T cell activity destroys infected cells and other pathogens lingering throughout the body or site of infection. The adaptive immune response is also critical for immune memory. Once someone experiences a disease and recovers, adaptive immune cells will remember that pathogen next time it enters the body — this is how vaccines work. A patient is injected with a non-harmful virus to expose the immune system. Immediately, the body will respond and destroy the virus. However, a few T cells will also be generated to targeted similar viruses in the future. As a result, when a patient is exposed to the infection again, they will be protected and not experience symptoms.
T cells are critical for any disease or infection, including cancer. Many immunotherapies currently being develop involve activating and directing T cells to the site of the tumor. However, immunotherapies have limited efficacy due to various mechanisms around the tumor that suppress immunity. Scientists are working to understand T cell biology to develop better immunotherapies and more accurately predict treatment outcomes in patients.
A hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy of space immunology
With the advent of commercial spaceflight, an increasing number of people may be heading into space in the coming years. Some will even get a chance to fly to the moon or live on Mars.
One of the major health risks associated with spaceflight involves the immune system, which normally fights off viruses and cancer. It’s already established that spaceflight weakens immunity; current and past astronauts report clinical issues such as respiratory illnesses and skin rashes. These issues may become even more serious on longer-term flights, such as to Mars.
To better understand the full scope of immunology during spaceflight, Buck Associate Professor Dan Winer, MD, working with colleagues linked to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), Cornell University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Toronto, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and others, have put together a comprehensive guide describing a full array of science linking spaceflight and the immune system.
How bacteria in tumors drive treatment resistance in cancer
Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that explains how bacteria can drive treatment resistance in patients with oral and colorectal cancer. The study was published today in Cancer Cell.
Tumor-infiltrating bacteria have been known to impact cancer progression and treatment, but very little is understood about how they do this. The new study shows how certain bacteria—particularly Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn)—can induce a reversible state, known as quiescence, in cancer epithelial cells. This allows tumors to evade the immune system and resist chemotherapy.
“These bacteria-tumor interactions have been hiding in plain sight, and with new technologies we can now see how microbes directly affect cancer cells, shape tumor behavior and blunt the effects of treatment,” said corresponding author Susan Bullman, Ph.D., associate professor of Immunology and associate member of MD Anderson’s James P. Allison Institute.
Insights into Persistent SARS-CoV-2 Reservoirs in Chronic Long COVID
Long COVID (LC), also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 infection (PASC), is a heterogeneous and debilitating chronic disease that currently affects 10 to 20 million people in the U.S. and over 420 million people globally. With no approved treatments, the long-term global health and economic impact of chronic LC remains high and growing. LC affects children, adolescents, and healthy adults and is characterized by over 200 diverse symptoms that persist for months to years after the acute COVID-19 infection is resolved. These symptoms target twelve major organ systems, causing dyspnea, vascular damage, cognitive impairments (“brain fog”), physical and mental fatigue, anxiety, and depression. This heterogeneity of LC symptoms, along with the lack of specific biomarkers and diagnostic tests, presents a significant challenge to the development of LC treatments.
Exploration of tumor-immune landscape in colorectal adenocarcinoma using AI-powered multiplexed image analysis
Colorectal cancer is a high disease burden cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The first-line treatment option is surgical resection of cancerous tissue. However, the clinical picture becomes more complex for recurrent disease, which occurs in roughly 20% of patients, and a variety of therapies such as adjuvants and immunotherapies have been employed to manage this manifestation of colon cancer. As a result, novel therapeutics are in demand, and a deeper understanding of the tumor microenvironment of colon cancer tissues, such as colon adenocarcinoma, or CAC, is needed.
Scientists just made gene editing far more powerful
Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a revolutionary gene-editing method using bacterial retrons that can correct multiple disease-causing mutations at once. Unlike traditional tools limited to one or two mutations, this retron-based system replaces large defective DNA regions, dramatically improving efficiency and inclusivity for patients with complex disorders like cystic fibrosis.
Simple DNA switch helps tropical butterflies change wing patterns with the seasons
Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered a simple DNA “switch” that helps tropical butterflies adjust the size of their wing eyespots in response to seasonal temperatures, shedding light on the evolution of environmental sensitivity. The findings could inform future efforts to understand and potentially bolster adaptation in a changing climate.
Insects often adapt in surprising ways to their surroundings. Some even change their colors with the seasons. This seasonal flexibility, called plasticity, helps them survive but its evolutionary origins have remained a mystery.
A team led by Professor Antónia Monteiro from the NUS Department of Biological Sciences, identified a stretch of DNA that helps certain butterflies switch their wing patterns between wet and dry seasons.
Breastfeeding linked to lasting immune protection against breast cancer
A team of researchers led by Peter Mac’s Professor Sherene Loi has uncovered how having children and breastfeeding reduces a woman’s long-term risk of breast cancer.
Published today in the prestigious journal Nature, the study provides a biological explanation for the protective effect of childbearing and shows how this has a lasting impact on a woman’s immune system. Professor Loi says the findings also offer new insights into breast cancer prevention and treatment.