Category Health/Medical

Isolated germ line of C. elegans. Damage to the DNA induces the formation of large UFD-2 complexes in C. elegans, in which the decision between DNA repair and cell death is made. The protein UFD-2 is visualized in red, whereas the DNA is made visible in blue. Picture: Leena Ackermann

The genetic information of every cell is encoded in the sequence of the DNA double helix. Double strand breaks in the DNA, which can be induced by radiation, are a dangerous threat to the cells, and if not properly repaired can lead to cancer. Damaged cells need to decide whether the breaks can be fixed or whether they should be removed by “apoptosis” before initiating cancer.

Björn Schumacher, one of the senior authors, explains: “Within seconds after an harmful incident, different mechanisms start...

Know your risks for metabolic syndrome. Credit: Image courtesy of American College of Cardiology

Increasing stomach fat – especially the “hidden fat” in your abdomen – is associated with newly identified and worsening heart disease risk factors, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. These adverse changes in cardiovascular risk were evident over a relatively short period of time and persisted even after accounting for changes in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, two commonly used methods to estimate whether someone is a healthy weight or not.

Previous studies have shown that people who carry excess abdominal fat around their midsection -“spare tire”- tend to face higher risks of heart disease compared to people who have fat elsewhe...

A mouse study found that ferumoxytol prompts immune cells called tumor-associated macrophages to destroy tumor cells. Credit: Amy Thomas

The nanoparticles, commercially available as injectable iron supplement ferumoxytol, are approved by the FDA to treat iron deficiency anemia. The mouse study found that ferumoxytol prompts immune cells called tumor-associated macrophages to destroy cancer cells, so nanoparticles could complement existing cancer treatments. The discovery was made by accident while testing whether the nanoparticles could serve as Trojan horses by sneaking chemotherapy into tumors in mice.

“It was really surprising to us that the nanoparticles activated macrophages so that they started to attack cancer cells in mice,” said Heike Daldrup-Link, MD, A/Prof of radiology at the S...

Eosinophil recruitment into tumour tissue is induced by IL-33 expression (C57BL/6 mouse).

UBC researchers have discovered how cancer cells become invisible to the body’s immune system, a crucial step that allows tumours to metastasize. “The immune system is efficient at identifying and halting the emergence and spread of primary tumours but when metastatic tumours appear, the immune system is no longer able to recognize the cancer cells and stop them,” said Wilfred Jefferies, Michael Smith Laboratories and a professor of Medical Genetics and Microbiology and Immunology at UBC.
“We discovered a new mechanism that explains how metastatic tumours can outsmart the immune system and we have begun to reverse this process so tumours are revealed to the immune system once again.”

Cancer cells gene...