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Category: biotech/medical – Page 246

New technique reveals how axon swellings could be treated in Alzheimer’s disease

For decades, scientists have focused on amyloid plaques—abnormal clumps of misfolded proteins that accumulate between neurons—as a therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease. But anti-amyloid therapies haven’t made strong headway in treating the devastating condition.

Now, researchers at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) are zeroing in on a byproduct of these plaques, called axonal spheroids, and exploring how to reverse their growth. They published their findings March 10 in Nature Aging.

Axonal spheroids are bubble-like structures on axons—the part of the neuron that sends messages through electrical impulses—that form due to swelling induced by amyloid plaques. Previous research at YSM has shown that as these spheroids grow, they block electricity conduction in the axons, which can hinder the ability to communicate with other neurons.

Epstein-Barr Virus’s Molecular Mimicry Reveals a Key Site of Vulnerability

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a common virus that causes mononucleosis, or mono for short, and is associated with some types of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Despite EBV’s known effects and potential to cause disease, there are few therapeutic options and no licensed vaccines targeting the virus. Looking for ways to counter EBV, NIAID researchers are examining how the virus recognizes and interacts with cells at the molecular level. New research published in Immunity reveals the high-resolution crystal structure of a protein on the surface of EBV in complex with the receptor it binds to on the surface of human immune cells, called B cells. The researchers also discovered antibodies that potently neutralize EBV and found that they recognize the viral surface protein using interactions similar to those between EBV and its receptor on host cells. This research identifies a vulnerable site on EBV that could lead to the design of much-needed interventions against the virus.

EBV, also known as human herpesvirus 4, is one of the most common human viruses—nine out of ten people have or will have EBV in their lifetime. After being infected with EBV, many people experience no symptoms, but some experience symptoms of mononucleosis, such as fever, sore throat and fatigue. These symptoms are often mild but can be more severe in teens or adults. After the early stages of infection, the virus hides in the body and can emerge later in life or when the immune system is weakened. Recent studies have also found that EBV is linked to several types of cancer, autoimmune diseases including lupus, and other disorders.

A key step in EBV infection is for the virus to enter a cell in the body, which begins with the virus binding to a protein on the cell’s surface. The researchers, led by Dr. Masaru Kanekiyo, chief of the Molecular Immunoengineering Section at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center, examined the atomic-level structure of an EBV surface protein called gp350 when bound to a protein on the surface of B cells called complement receptor type 2 (CR2). Usually, CR2 binds to a protein fragment, or ligand, called complement component C3d as a part of the immune response following a viral infection. The researchers found that the EBV protein precisely bound to the cell surface protein CR2 at the region where its natural ligand C3d binds, revealing that there is structural similarity between EBV and C3d in recognizing CR2 and how the virus exploits this interaction to enter and infect a cell.

Experiments aboard the International Space Station may offer promising advancements in fighting cancer

Getting seven experiments on the International Space Station requires a really good idea. Like a brand new way to attack tumors—one that you can only make in space.

Space has unique advantages for making medicines. Its very makes it possible to grow molecules in shapes and uniformity that are difficult to create on Earth. If they can be reliably and affordably produced, such molecules could have all kinds of novel uses in industry and medicine.

University of Connecticut engineer Yupeng Chen has been growing one such unusually rod-shaped nanoparticle, called a Janus base nanotube, on the International Space Station (ISS).

How a Common Virus Triggers Brain Attacks in Multiple Sclerosis

Summary: New research highlights a critical link between antibodies produced against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). Scientists discovered that these viral antibodies mistakenly target a protein called GlialCAM in the brain, triggering autoimmune responses associated with MS.

The study also revealed how combinations of genetic risk factors and elevated viral antibodies further increase the risk of developing MS. These insights may pave the way for improved diagnostics and targeted therapies, enhancing our understanding of the genetic and immunological interplay underlying this debilitating disease.

Researchers Reveal Breakthrough in Alzheimer’s Disease and the Shocking Place It Might Originate in Your Body

Although it’s not the first time this was hypothesized, this study is the first time researchers looked at the presence of gingipains within the brains of diseased patients. Even more, the patients themselves were never even diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“Our identification of gingipain antigens in the brains of individuals with AD and also with AD pathology but no diagnosis of dementia argues that brain infection with P. gingivalis is not a result of poor dental care following the onset of dementia or a consequence of late-stage disease, but is an early event that can explain the pathology found in middle-aged individuals before cognitive decline,” the authors explained.

While this isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to what causes Alzheimer’s, it’s a step in the right direction to finding the reasoning behind this life-altering disease.

Prostate cancer ‘is not a death knell’: Early detection and personalized care improve outcomes, study shows

Prostate cancer statistics can look scary: 34,250 U.S. deaths in 2024. 1.4 million new cases worldwide in 2022. Dr. Bruce Montgomery, a UW Medicine oncologist, hopes that patients won’t see these numbers and just throw up their hands in fear or resignation.

“Being diagnosed with is not a death knell,” said Montgomery, senior author of a literature and trial review that appeared in JAMA today. Montgomery is the clinical director of Genitourinary Oncology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and University of Washington Medical Center, and a professor of medicine and urology at the UW School of Medicine.

He encourages patients to ask their primary-care doctor specific questions about this cancer too. Montgomery also encourages his fellow doctors to bring up the question of prostate cancer screening with their patients.

Beneficial genetic changes observed in regular blood donors

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have identified genetic changes in blood stem cells from frequent blood donors that support the production of new, non-cancerous cells.

Understanding the differences in the mutations that accumulate in our as we age is important to understand how and why blood cancers develop and hopefully how to intervene before the onset of clinical symptoms.

As we age, stem cells in the bone marrow naturally accumulate mutations and with this, we see the emergence of clones, which are groups of blood cells that have a slightly different genetic makeup. Sometimes, specific clones can lead to like leukemia.

Twenty years of microplastic pollution research—what have we learned?

Twenty years after the first publication that used the term microplastic, we review current understanding, refine definitions, and consider future prospects. Microplastics arise from multiple sources, including tires, textiles, cosmetics, paint, and the fragmentation of larger items. They are widely distributed throughout the natural environment, with evidence of harm at multiple levels of biological organization. They are pervasive in food and drink and have been detected throughout the human body, with emerging evidence of negative effects. Environmental contamination could double by 2040, and wide-scale harm has been predicted. Public concern is increasing, and diverse measures to address microplastic pollution are being considered in international negotiations.