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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2

Researchers have revolutionized cancer immunotherapy by developing a way to grow T cells in the lab that live longer and fight cancer more effectively.

They identified flaws in traditional methods, where sugar-rich growth media caused T cells to depend on glucose and die quickly when reintroduced into the body. By supplementing the growth medium with dichloroacetate (DCA), the researchers improved the cells’ metabolism and durability, achieving better outcomes in mouse models of melanoma, with long-lasting immune protection against cancer.

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These insights could drive the development of new drugs to treat transthyretin amyloidosis, a progressive and fatal disease.

Transthyretin, a small but crucial protein, plays a vital role in transporting hormones through the blood and spinal fluid. However, when it misfolds after secretion, it can lead to serious health problems. Misfolded transthyretin forms toxic clumps in the heart and along nerves, causing transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR)—a progressive and often fatal disease. ATTR affects up to 25% of men over 80, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, and numbness or tingling in the extremities.

In a breakthrough study, researchers at Scripps Research have revealed new structural insights into transthyretin. Their findings, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

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Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with teams from Lund University and the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), have mapped the genome of the Iberian ribbed newt and revealed how the composition and organization of the DNA are linked to its ability to regenerate entire body parts.

The paper is published in the journal Cell Genomics.

Salamanders are known for their unique ability to regenerate entire body parts and for their resistance to tumor development. The behind these traits have been difficult to study due to a lack of knowledge about the composition of their genome. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now succeeded in mapping the genome of the Iberian ribbed newt, providing new insights into these fascinating processes.

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Hidden within our bones, marrow sustains life by producing billions of blood cells daily, from oxygen-carrying red cells to immune-boosting white cells. This vital function is often disrupted in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, which can damage the marrow and lead to dangerously low white cell counts, leaving patients vulnerable to infection.

Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering), Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a platform that emulates human marrow’s native environment. This breakthrough addresses a critical need in medical science, as animal studies often fail to fully replicate the complexities of human marrow.

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Neoadjuvant therapy with hedgehog inhibitors has an overall response rate (ORR) of 71%, but adverse events (AEs) like fatigue, muscle cramps, dysgeusia, and hair loss often lead to discontinuation and low compliance.

OVs represent a class of intratumoral therapeutics that might be a safe and effective neoadjuvant therapy for difficult-to-resect BCCs.

Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) is an OV, a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), approved for treating injectable, unresectable melanoma lesions in the United States and Europe. T-VEC has a dual mode of action and can alter the tumor microenvironment (TME) by activating adaptive and innate immunity.

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Researchers have developed a new electrically active biomaterial that can be transplanted into the body to improve recovery following central nervous system injuries. The material acts as a scaffold that also provides electrical stimulation.

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