neutrophils tagged posts

Surprise finding shows that Neutrophils can be Key Antitumor Weapons

microscopic image
Biopsies from melanoma patients who were treated or not with immune checkpoint blockade were stained for neutrophil activation. Left: Biopsy of an untreated patient, with white arrow showing neutrophils. Right: Biopsy of a patient treated with immunotherapy, with yellow arrows showing activated neutrophils. 

White blood cells called neutrophils have an unappreciated role in eradicating solid tumors, according to a surprise discovery from a team led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists.

In the study, published March 30 in Cell, the researchers investigated how a T cell-based immunotherapy was able to destroy melanoma tumors even though many of the tumor cells lacked the markers or “antigens” targeted by the T cells...

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Two different White Blood Cell types play Opposing Roles in affecting Heartbeat irregularities after heart attack

Two different white blood cell types play opposing roles in affecting heartbeat irregularities after heart attack
Summary of findings. Credit: Nature Cardiovascular Research (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s44161-022-00094-w

Neutrophils promote irregularities while macrophages protect against them. Patients with heart disease are at risk of experiencing a potentially lethal “electrical storm” involving recurrent episodes of a type of irregular heartbeat called ventricular tachycardia (VT).

Electric shock therapy is used to treat VT following a heart attack, but unfortunately, options to prevent its recurrence are limited.

New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals that two different white blood cell types influence VT in the heart, suggesting that treatments that influence these cells may help reduce patients’ risk of sudden cardiac death.

The work, which is pu...

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Scientists discover how a Decades-old Drug Reduces the Size of a Heart Attack

Left: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart of a patient after a heart attack. Right: key. 1: left ventricle, 2: left atrium, 3: right ventricle. The major heart muscle surrounds the left ventricle, and healthy muscle appears black on MRI. After an infarction, the necrotic portion of the heart appears white on MRI after injectino of a contrast agent. Credit: CNIC

Left: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart of a patient after a heart attack. Right: key. 1: left ventricle, 2: left atrium, 3: right ventricle. The major heart muscle surrounds the left ventricle, and healthy muscle appears black on MRI. After an infarction, the necrotic portion of the heart appears white on MRI after injectino of a contrast agent. Credit: CNIC

Scientists at CNIC have discovered a new mechanism of action of metoprolol, a drug that can reduce the damage produced during a heart attack if administered early. Rapid administration of metoprolol during a heart attack directly inhibits the inflammatory action of neutrophils. The reduced inflammation translates into a smaller area of damaged tissue in the post-infarcted heart...

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