Category Health/Medical

A newly discovered molecular mechanism could explain some autoimmune diseases. Credit: Image courtesy of Osaka University

While the immune system is crucial for protecting the body from infection and disease, prolonged activation can damage healthy tissue. After its activation, the immune system is shut off by regulatory T cells (Treg cells). Understanding the development of Treg cells is thought to be critical for combating autoimmune diseases. “The development of Treg cells in the thymus depends on super-enhancer establishment,” explains IFReC Professor Shimon Sakaguchi.

This super-enhancer establishment permits the expression of genes specific for Treg cell development...

Illustration demonstrating the anti-cancer effect of the drug combination. Credit: Evi Bieler, NanoImaging Lab, University of Basel

A combination of a diabetes medication and an antihypertensive drug can effectively combat specific cancer cells. Metformin is the most widely prescribed drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Besides its blood sugar lowering effect, it also displays anti-cancer properties. The usual therapeutic dose, however, is too low to effectively fight cancer. The team has now made an unexpected discovery: The antihypertensive drug syrosingopine potentiates the anti-cancer efficacy of metformin. Apparently, this drug combination drives cancer cells to programmed “suicide.”

At higher doses, the antidiabetic drug inhibits the growth of cancer cells but could also induc...

Design of sHDL nanodisc platform for personalized cancer vaccines.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have had initial success in mice using nanodiscs to deliver a customized therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of colon and melanoma cancer tumors. “We are basically educating the immune system with these nanodiscs so that immune cells can attack cancer cells in a personalized manner,” said James Moon, the John Gideon Searle assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical engineering.

Personalized immunotherapy is a fast-growing field of research in the fight against cancer. The therapeutic cancer vaccine employs nanodiscs loaded with tumor neoantigens, unique mutations found in tumor cells...

Killer T cells surround a cancer cell. Credit: NIH

An international team discovered how a shift to increased fat utilization is required for the development and growth of lymphatic vessels for metastasis. This discovery paves the way towards developing therapeutics to limit lymphatic vessel growth in cancer by targeting fat utilization. Formation of new lymphatic vessels, ie lymphangiogenesis, is a poorly understood process, which currently lacks clinically approved drugs to prevent their growth during disease.

The study began with a simple observation: lymphatics use more fatty acids compared to blood vessels. This is the first description of the nutrient utilization of lymphatic vessels...