by The Wistar Institute Ovarian cancer cells. Credit: The Wistar Institute Mutations that inactivate the ARID1A gene in ovarian cancer increase utilization of the glutamine amino acid making cancer cells dependent on glutamine metabolism, according to a study by The Wistar Institute published online in Nature Cancer. Researchers also showed that pharmacologic inhibition of glutamine metabolism may represent an...
Discovery pinpoints new therapeutic target for atopic dermatitis
by Thomas Deane, Trinity College Dublin Credit: CC0 Public Domain Researchers from Trinity have discovered a key mechanism underlying bacterial skin colonisation in atopic dermatitis, which affects millions around the globe. Atopic dermatitis (AD, also called commonly eczema) is the most common chronic inflammatory skin disorder in children, affecting 15-20% of people in childhood. During disease flares, patients experience...
New findings help explain how COVID-19 overpowers the immune system
by University of Southern California Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a dying cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 (yellow), the virus that causes COVID-19. Credit: NIAID Integrated Research Facility, Fort Detrick, Maryland. Seeking to understand why COVID-19 is able to suppress the body’s immune response, new research from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology suggests that mitochondria are one...
Could Ivermectin be an effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2?
By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D. Jan 11 2021 A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India, has recently demonstrated that Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, can reduce in-hospital mortality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server. Study: Ivermectin as a...
Signals from fat, not excess loading, lead to painful joint disease
SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN IMAGE: LEAD AUTHOR OF THE STUDY, DR. KELSEY COLLINS IS A POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW IN GUILAK’S LABORATORY. CREDIT: SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN (St. Louis) – A new study by investigators at the Shriners Hospital for Children — St. Louis suggests the damaging effects of obesity are not due to body weight but...
Uncovering basic mechanisms of intestinal stem cell self-renewal and differentiation
HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MÜNCHEN – GERMAN RESEARCH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IMAGE: ACTIVATION OF THE WNT/PCP SIGNALING PATHWAY (SHOWN IN GREEN) IN INTESTINAL STEM CELLS PRIMES THEIR FATE TOWARDS THE PANETH AND ENTEROENDOCRINE LINEAGE. CREDIT: HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MÜNCHEN The gut plays a central role in the regulation of the body’s metabolism and its dysfunction is associated with a...
Biomarkers in fathers’ sperm linked to offspring autism
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY PULLMAN, Wash. – Biomarkers in human sperm have been identified that can indicate a propensity to father children with autism spectrum disorder. These biomarkers are epigenetic, meaning they involve changes to molecular factors that regulate genome activity such as gene expression independent of DNA sequence, and can be passed down to future...
Scientists reach new milestone in vaccine development for leishmaniasis
by University of York Bone marrow aspiration: Leishmaniasis (Leishmania sp.) in liver transplant recipient. Credit: Paulo Henrique Orlandi Mourao, CC BY-SA 3.0 Researchers have taken an important step forward in developing a controlled human infection model to test leishmaniasis vaccines. The University of York-led study identified and characterized a new strain of Leishmania parasite that will form...
Study identifies exposure to common food-borne pathogen linked to rare brain cancer
by American Cancer Society Toxoplasma gondii. Credit: Wikipedia A new study suggests a link between toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and the risk of glioma, a type of brain cancer, in adults. The report, appearing in the International Journal of Cancer, finds that people who have glioma are more likely to have antibodies to T. gondii(indicating that they have had...
Study identifies genetic mutation associated with autism, offering hope for effective therapeutics
by Hebrew University of Jerusalem Credit: CC0 Public Domain Recent years have provided substantial research displaying the effect of genetic mutations on the development of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Based on those studies, researchers have focused attention on the commonalities behind those mutations and how they impact on the functioning of the brain. A study conducted by Professor Sagiv...