Category Health/Medical

Scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified a previously overlooked mediator in the body’s response to life-threatening infections: hippuric acid, a metabolite produced when gut bacteria break down polyphenols from berries, tea, and other plant-based foods. The research reveals that this molecule acts as an immune-system amplifier, boosting the body’s inflammatory defenses during early infection but elevating them to deadly levels when infections progress to sepsis.

Published in Cell Reports, the study demonstrates that elevated hippuric acid levels correlate with increased mortality in sepsis patients, while also uncovering the molecular mechanisms by which this metabolite modifies immune re...

The COVID-19 pandemic gave us tremendous perspective on how wildly symptoms and outcomes can vary between patients experiencing the same infection. How can two people infected by the same pathogen have such different responses? It largely comes down to variability in genetics (the genes you inherit) and life experience (your environmental, infection, and vaccination history).

These two influences are imprinted on our cells through small molecular alterations called epigenetic changes, which shape cell identity and function by controlling whether genes are turned “on” or “off.”

Salk Institute researchers are debuting a new epigenetic catalog that reveals the distinct effects of genetic inheritance and life experience on various types of immune cells...

Two recent studies from the University of California, Riverside, published in the same issue of Gut Microbes highlight the role of a gene called PTPN2 in protecting the gut from harmful bacteria linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Led by Declan McCole, a professor of biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine, the studies show that when PTPN2 does not function properly, the gut becomes more vulnerable to infection and inflammation.

People with IBD often have higher levels of AIEC, a harmful type of E. coli bacteria. AIEC can attach to the gut lining, invade gut cells, damage the gut’s protective barrier, and worsen inflammation.

Normally, PTPN2 helps maintain gut health by controlling inflammation and supporting a balanced gut microbiome...

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine report that they have uncovered a promising drug target that could allow scientists to increase or decrease the activity of specific brain proteins. The discovery may lead to new treatments for psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and schizophrenia, as well as a neurological disorder that affects movement and balance. The work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

The proteins at the center of the research are known as delta-type ionotropic glutamate receptors, or GluDs...