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Category: biotech/medical – Page 148

Therapeutic mRNAs offer great potential as a versatile and precise tool against cancer and other diseases. However, the therapeutic effectiveness is limited by the poor translation uptake of naked mRNA. To circumvent this challenge, researchers from VIB, VUB, Ghent University, and eTheRNA Immunotherapies developed an immunotherapeutic platform based on lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs).

In different cancer models, applying a novel mixture of immunotherapeutic mRNA encapsulated in LNPs led to a clearly improved therapeutic efficacy with limited side effects. This proves the added value of the platform to the development of effective mRNA immunotherapies. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

The COVID-19 pandemic and recent Nobel Prize recognition have spotlighted mRNA therapies as a promising approach for diseases like cancer. With precision, scalability, and controlled , mRNA-based immunotherapy can encode proteins that stimulate the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. Yet, naked mRNA is unstable, prone to degradation, and poorly absorbed by cells, limiting its effectiveness. This makes the development of reliable delivery methods essential for the future success of mRNA immunotherapies.

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A new USC Stem Cell study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified key gene regulators that enable some deafened animals—including fish and lizards—to naturally regenerate their hearing. The findings could guide future efforts to stimulate the regeneration of sensory hearing cells in patients with hearing loss and balance disorders.

Led by first author Tuo Shi and co-corresponding authors Ksenia Gnedeva and Gage Crump at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the study focuses on two cell types in the inner ear: the sensory cells that detect sound, and the that create an environment where sensory cells can thrive.

In highly regenerative species such as fish and lizards, supporting cells can also transform into replacement sensory cells after injury—a capacity absent in humans, mice and all other mammals.

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A year later, he got a myoelectric arm, a type of prosthetic powered by the electrical signals in his residual limb’s muscles. But Smith hardly used it because it was “very, very slow” and had a limited range of movements. He could open and close the hand, but not do much else. He tried other robotic arms over the years, but they had similar problems.

“They’re just not super functional,” he says. “There’s a massive delay between executing a function and then having the prosthetic actually do it. In my day-to-day life, it just became faster to figure out other ways to do things.”

Recently, he’s been trying out a new system by Austin-based startup Phantom Neuro that has the potential to provide more lifelike control of prosthetic limbs. The company is building a thin, flexible muscle implant to allow amputees a wider, more natural range of movement just by thinking about the gestures they want to make.

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How do human organs develop and what happens to them when they become diseased? To answer these questions, researchers are increasingly focusing on so-called organoids. These mini-organs, just a few millimeters in size, consist of groups of cells cultivated in the laboratory that can form organ-like structures.

Similar to embryonic development, organoids make it possible to investigate the interaction of cells in three-dimensional space—for example in metabolic processes or disease mechanisms.

The production of organoids is tricky; the required nutrients, and signaling molecules must be added in a specific order and at specific times according to a precise schedule.

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Ultimately, the goal is to find ways to stop deadly disease caused by Cryptococcus neoformans from developing in humans and animals. But until that time, finding new and better ways to treat already existent disease and its symptoms is a high priority.

The laboratory of Kirsten Nielsen in the Center for One Health Research has taken a step toward improved treatment of Cryptococcus, completing a six-year study to examine the virulence of 38 clinical isolates from various strains of Cryptococcus. The results are published in Nature Communications.

“The question that we’ve been addressing is: Can we predict severe disease outcomes in patients?” said Nielsen, professor of microbiology and immunology in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. “If we can predict disease outcome, then we can treat patients better. In these studies, we identified not just the genes that allow Cryptococcus to cause disease, but also the gene alleles that allow it to cause more disease or less disease.”

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Precious few garments have been made of spider silk. In 2012, a cape and shawl made from natural spider silk were displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where visitors learned that the garments were the result of a unique project that spanned eight years and involved the harvesting of silk from 1.2 million spiders. In 2019, a rather less painstaking project utilized fibroin, the protein found in natural spider silk, to fabricate an outerwear jacket, North Face’s Moon Parka. Starting with fibroin meant that silk could be sourced from genetically modified bacteria, which are easier to work with than spiders. Nonetheless, the Moon Parka, which takes its name from the word moonshot, was never meant to be mass produced. It was available by lottery for just a limited time.

Museum pieces and moonshots are hardly synonymous with “mass production.” Is there another way to generate spider silk–based textiles, one that has more commercial potential? Yes, according to Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, which uses transgenic silkworms to produce lines of recombinant spider silk. The company plans to produce up to 10 metric tons of spider silk in 2025. Production of actual spider silk lines on this scale would allow textile manufacturers to test the silk on their own equipment.

It’s not just textiles that may benefit. Recombinant spider silk’s tensile strength, weight, and durability make it attractive for myriad applications, including tissue scaffolds and sutures in the biomedical field, as well as textiles and ballistic materials.

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Delivering Innovative, Compassionate And Accessible Patient Care — Robert Stone, CEO — City of Hope & Dr. Marcel van den Brink, MD, PhD, President, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Robert Stone is the CEO of City of Hope (https://www.cityofhope.org/robert-stone), a premier cancer research and treatment center dedicated to innovation in biomedical science and the delivery of compassionate, world-class patient care. A seasoned health care executive, he has served in a number of strategic decision-making roles since he joined City of Hope in 1996, culminating with his appointment as president in 2012, CEO in 2014, and as the Helen and Morgan Chu Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair in 2021.

Mr. Stone has J.D., University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL.

Mr. Stone’s strategic acumen, empathy and visionary leadership have driven City of Hope’s rapid evolution.

As an independent institution dedicated to advancing the fight against cancer and diabetes, City of Hope is accelerating opportunities for high-impact discovery and ensuring that patients around the world have access to the most advanced therapies. Recent examples include a groundbreaking alliance in precision medicine with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a leader in genomic analysis and bioinformatics; leadership in CAR T cell therapy research and therapy; and an innovative program to offer cancer support services to the employees of some of American’s largest employers, regardless of geography.

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A new UC Davis Health study has uncovered how Salmonella bacteria, a major cause of food poisoning, can invade the gut even when protective bacteria are present. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explains how the pathogen tricks the gut environment to escape the body’s natural defenses.

The digestive system is home to trillions of bacteria, many of which produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that help fight harmful pathogens. But Salmonella manages to grow and spread in the gut, even though these protective compounds are present. The study asks: How does Salmonella get around this defense?

“We knew that Salmonella invades the small intestine, although it is not its primary site of replication. The colon is,” said the lead author of the study Andreas Bäumler is a UC Davis distinguished professor and vice chair of research in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology.

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