Category Health/Medical

Fast-acting Immune Cells provide Powerful Protection against Stroke

CREDIT: Adapted from Cai and Shi et al., 2022
CAPTION:  Within 24 hours after researchers depleted CD8+TRLs from the bloodstream of stroke mice, the size of the brain region affected by ischemia expanded by 50% (middle panel) compared to animals whose CD8+TRL levels remained intact (left and right panels).

CD8+ regulatory-like Tcells reach the brain within 24 hours after stroke onset, where they release molecules that provide direct neuroprotective effects, as well as limit inflammation and secondary brain damage.

“The beauty of CD8+TRLs is in their fast response. They confer very potent protection to the brain, which can last a long time,” said co-corresponding author Xiaoming Hu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at Pitt and a U.S...

Read More

New link found that connects Cell Signaling Pathway to Development of Esophageal Cancers, Barrett’s Syndrome

Researchers believe pathway is a potential therapeutic target for gastroesophageal cancers. A team of researchers believe they have identified a cell signaling pathway responsible for the development of esophageal adenocarcinomas, an aggressive form of esophageal cancer that has gradually become more common, even in younger people.

Of the roughly 20,000 people in the U.S. diagnosed with esophageal cancer this year, just 4,000 are likely to still be alive in 2027. Such dire data has long driven researchers to try to understand the roots of the disease, but they have discovered little — until now.

“The incidence of esophageal cancers has increased several fold over the last few decades, making it the most common esophageal malignancy in the U.S...

Read More

Researchers discover Gene that Promotes Muscle Strength during Exercise

Researchers have identified a gene that promotes muscle strength when switched on by physical activity, unlocking the potential for the development of therapeutic treatments to mimic some of the benefits of working out.

Published in Cell Metabolism, the University of Melbourne-led study showed how different types of exercise change the molecules in our muscles, resulting in the discovery of the new C18ORF25 gene that is activated with all types of exercise and responsible for promoting muscle strength. Animals without C18ORF25 have poor exercise performance and weaker muscles.

Project lead Dr Benjamin Parker said by activating the C18ORF25 gene, the research team could see muscles become much stronger, without them becoming necessarily bigger.

“Identifying this gene may impac...

Read More

The Chemical Controlling Life and Death in Hair Follicles

1) New understanding of the signals controlling whether hair follicles divide or die could help people heal from wounds or grow new hair. (Helpaeatcontu/Wikimedia)
2) Cross section of a typical hair follicle. (Qixuan Wang/UCR)

A single chemical is key to controlling when hair follicle cells divide, and when they die. This discovery could not only treat baldness, but ultimately speed wound healing because follicles are a source of stem cells.

Most cells in the human body have a specific form and function determined during embryonic development that does not change. For example, a blood cell cannot turn into a nerve cell, or vice versa. Stem cells, however, are like the blank tiles in a game of Scrabble; they can turn into other types of cells.

Their adaptability makes them useful ...

Read More