Lifeboat Foundation

The gastrointestinal hormones ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) have opposite secretion patterns, as well as opposite effects on metabolism and food intake. Beyond their role in energy homeostasis, gastrointestinal hormones have also been suggested to modulate the reward system. However, the potential of ghrelin and GLP-1 to modulate reward responses in humans has not been systematically reviewed before. To evaluate the convergence of published results, we first conduct a multi-level kernel density meta-analysis of studies reporting a positive association of ghrelin (N_comb = 353, 18 contrasts) and a negative association of GLP-1 (N_comb = 258, 12 contrasts) and reward responses measured using task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Second, we complement the meta-analysis using a systematic literature review, focusing on distinct reward phases and applications in clinical populations that may account for variability across studies. In line with preclinical research, we find that ghrelin increases reward responses across studies in key nodes of the motivational circuit, such as the nucleus accumbens, pallidum, putamen, substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, and the dorsal mid insula. In contrast, for GLP-1, we did not find sufficient convergence in support of reduced reward responses. Instead, our systematic review identifies potential differences of GLP-1 on anticipatory versus consummatory reward responses. Based on a systematic synthesis of available findings, we conclude that there is considerable support for the neuromodulatory potential of gut-based circulating peptides on reward responses. To unlock their potential for clinical applications, it may be useful for future studies to move beyond anticipated rewards to cover other reward facets.

Humanity may soon generate more data than hard drives or magnetic tape can handle, a problem that has scientists turning to nature’s age-old solution for information-storage—DNA.

In a new study in Science, a pair of researchers at Columbia University and the New York Genome Center (NYGC) show that an algorithm designed for streaming video on a cellphone can unlock DNA’s nearly full storage potential by squeezing more information into its four base nucleotides. They demonstrate that this technology is also extremely reliable.

DNA is an ideal storage medium because it’s ultra-compact and can last hundreds of thousands of years if kept in a cool, dry place, as demonstrated by the recent recovery of DNA from the bones of a 430,000-year-old human ancestor found in a cave in Spain.

A research team from LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed thyroid hormone (TH)–encapsulated nanoparticles modified with an adipose-homing peptide, which selectively transports TH to adipose tissues. This will advance the treatment of obesity-related medical complications with TH by overcoming the severe adverse effects caused by systemic administration. The new findings are now published in Nature Communications.

Obesity is a major risk factor for multiple life-threatening chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. TH is an ancient hormone with therapeutic potential for obesity and its related medical complications by promoting energy expenditure. However, despite enormous research efforts in the past decades, clinical trials have failed to demonstrate obvious clinical benefits of chronic systemic administration of TH on weight loss in obese individuals.

Furthermore, due to widespread expression of TH receptors, systemic administration of TH often leads to serious deleterious effects on multiple organs, including tachycardia, heart attack, muscle wasting, and osteoporosis. Skeletal muscle and adipose tissues are thought to be the two major target organs where TH exerts its stimulatory actions on metabolic rate and energy expenditure. However, whether selective delivery of TH to adipose tissues is sufficient to induce weight loss remains unclear.

Prof. Wang Hui, together with Prof. Lin Wenchu and associate Prof. Qian Junchao from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have recently reported a near infrared (NIR)-II-responsive carbon-coated iron oxide nanocluster that was guided by magnetic resonance imaging and capable of combined photothermal and chemodynamic therapy (CDT), for synergistic cancer treatment.

The results were published in SCIENCE CHINA Materials.

As a promising treatment strategy, CDT has become a hot spot in cancer research due to its simple operation and low side effects. The basic principle of CDT is that the nanozymes activate the intracellular Fenton reaction, leading to the over-production of hydroxyl radicals, which are toxic to cancer cells. Magnetite nanocrystals are widely used as Fenton reagents due to their non-invasive imaging ability and good biocompatibility. However, the ferromagnetic behavior and easy oxidization of magnetite nanocrystals lead to colloidal instability as nanozymes and limit the imaging-guided cancer therapy in practical applications.

Once thought incapable of encoding proteins due to their simple monotonous repetitions of DNA, tiny telomeres at the tips of our chromosomes seem to hold a potent biological function that’s potentially relevant to our understanding of cancer and aging.

Reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UNC School of Medicine researchers Taghreed Al-Turki, Ph.D., and Jack Griffith, Ph.D., made the stunning discovery that telomeres contain genetic information to produce two small proteins, one of which they found is elevated in some human cancer cells, as well as cells from patients suffering from telomere-related defects.

“Based on our research, we think simple blood tests for these proteins could provide a valuable screen for certain cancers and other human diseases,” said Griffith, the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. “These tests also could provide a measure of ‘telomere health,’ because we know telomeres shorten with age.”

Despite scientific evidence originating from two patients published to date that CCR5Δ32/Δ32 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can cure human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the knowledge of immunological and virological correlates of cure is limited. Here we characterize a case of long-term HIV-1 remission of a 53-year-old male who was carefully monitored for more than 9 years after allogeneic CCR5Δ32/Δ32 HSCT performed for acute myeloid leukemia. Despite sporadic traces of HIV-1 DNA detected by droplet digital PCR and in situ hybridization assays in peripheral T cell subsets and tissue-derived samples, repeated ex vivo quantitative and in vivo outgrowth assays in humanized mice did not reveal replication-competent virus.

Nature Publication:

After the Berlin Patient, and the London Patient. There appears to be a third patient cured of HIV through stem cell transplantation.

Continue reading “In-depth virological and immunological characterization of HIV-1 cure after CCR5Δ32/Δ32 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation” »

Feb. 20 (UPI) — Researchers at Dusseldorf University said Monday a fifth person has been declared free of HIV after a blood stem cell transplant during that patient’s treatment for leukemia. The revelation, disclosed in a study published Monday in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, said the patient, a 53-year-old man from Dusseldorf, Germany, tested positive for HIV in 2008 and developed leukemia three years later.

Metastasis occurs when cancer cells break free from a primary tumor and spread throughout the body, requiring them to sever connections with neighboring cells and migrate to other tissues. Signaling molecules released by the cancer cells drive both processes and thereby increase the malignancy of tumors.

A team of researchers led by Professor Robert Grosse and Dr. Carsten Schwan from the University of Freiburg discovered that the release of prometastatic factors, which drive the malignancy of tumors, is influenced by the cells’ skeleton. The findings were published in the journal Advanced Science.

Universitätsklinikum Erlangen is the first in the world to use CAR T-cells to successfully treat a patient suffering from a severe case of muscle inflammation (myositis). The disease is triggered by a malfunction in the immune system that leads to inflammation of the muscles, and the risk of developing a very severe form of the disease is high. The Lancet has now published news of the successful treatment in a case report.

When the 41 year old Mr. S. noticed a dramatic deterioration in this health last year, he initially put it down to a viral infection. However, his health took a dramatic turn for the worse when he was suddenly no longer to move more than a few feet and was barely able to stand up. His symptoms were caused by a severe autoimmune disease affecting his muscles, joints, skin and lungs belonging to the group of anti-immune muscle inflammatory diseases (myositis). The diagnosis: anti-synthetase syndrome.

The name anti-synthetase syndrome is derived from the observation that the enzymes required for the synthesis of amino acids known as aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are attacked in error by the immune system. This severely impacts the function of various cells.