A new liquid biopsy test could detect cancer years before symptoms are apparent, according to research presented today (June 1) at the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) meeting in Chicago. The test—a noninvasive blood draw followed by DNA screening—could lead to dramatic changes in cancer treatment, say researchers. “This is potentially the holy grail of cancer...
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Antibody blocks inflammation, protects mice from hardened arteries and liver disease
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine discovered that they can block inflammation in mice with a naturally occurring antibody that binds oxidized phospholipids (OxPL), molecules on cell surfaces that get modified by inflammation. Even while on a high-fat diet, the antibody protected the mice from arterial plaque formation, hardening of the...
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Gut microbiome showed positive response to vegetarian diet in two weeks
The research team from ITMO University and collaborators analyzed the impact of short-term changes in diet on the condition of the gut microbiome. Assessing changes in the microbiome structure of 248 volunteers, the researchers concluded that a diet enriched with food fiber significantly changes the balance of gut bacterial species in two weeks. Obtained results...
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Rare bacteria boosts immunotherapy in prostate cancer
A unique bacterial strain isolated from a patient with pelvic pain may represent a promising path to treating prostate cancer with immunotherapy, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Communications. A tumor that was not treated with CP1 (above) and a tumor that was treated with CP1 (below). T-cells are in red, indicating immune...
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Eosinophilic esophagitis may be due to missing protein
Scientists have discovered that the absence of a specific protein in cells lining the esophagus may cause inflammation and tissue damage in people with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). EoE affects as many as 150,000 people in the United States, many of whom are children. People with EoE experience difficult or painful swallowing, vomiting and nutritional problems...
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Restricting unwanted immune reactions
The immune system often initiates its response to pathogens by activating immune cells, so-called phagocytes, which migrate to sites of inflammation. There, the phagocytes release certain proteins, including the S100A8/S100A9 heterodimeric protein complex, which triggers or amplifies the inflammatory reaction at the site of the disease. However, if too many of these complexes are released,...
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Waves move across the human brain to support memory
The coordination of neural activity across widespread brain networks is essential for human cognition. Researchers have long assumed that oscillations in the brain, commonly measured for research purposes, brain-computer interfacing, and clinical tests, were stationary signals that occurred independently at separate brain regions. Biomedical engineers at Columbia Engineering have discovered a new fundamental feature of...
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Alzheimer’s may NOT be caused by toxic protein clumps killing brain cells: Study debunks the established theory and could pave the way for new treatments
Past research implies dementia occurs due to amyloid proteins causing plaques These plaques were thought to kill nerve cells or make toxic tangles in the brain New study suggests proteins do cause plaques but not cell death or the tangles Researcher believes the ‘exciting’ finding ‘opens the way for drug screening’ Alzheimer’s affects around 5.5...
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Condensin Folds DNA Through Loop Extrusion
By observing the activity of a protein complex in real time, researchers have uncovered new evidence for a long-standing theory. EDITOR’S CHOICE IN CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY The paper M. Ganji et al., “Real-time imaging of DNA loop extrusion by condensin,” Science, doi:10.1126/science.aar7831, 2018. How does a human cell neatly pack more than 2 meters’ worth...
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Cell Transplant Trial for Spinal Injury Is Safe
The first human experiment with neural precursor cells implanted to treat chronic spinal cord injury suggests the procedure is safe, and hints at a small benefit. Four patients with chronic spinal damage and a complete loss of motor and sensory functions below their waists have received transplants of human neural stem cells in a first-of-its-kind...