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Category: biotech/medical – Page 388

Engineered nanobodies improve respiratory defenses in preclinical study

In a multi-institutional study published today in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported that engineered bispecific nanobodies successfully strengthened mucosal defenses in the respiratory tract, improving protection against influenza infection and reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in vivo.

Wen Jiang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Radiation Oncology, has been researching different nanotechnologies for their potential use in delivering cancer therapies. That research has led to work with Liming Zhou, M.D., a postdoctoral student, and the late Charles Chan, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgery at Stanford Medicine.

Off-grid filtration technology can remove over 99% of nanoplastics smaller than 50 nm

Professor Jeong-Min Baik’s research group of the SKKU School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering has developed a reusable electrokinetic filtration platform capable of filtering more than 99% of ultrafine nanoplastic particles smaller than 50 nm even under commercial-level high-flow conditions.

Plastic pollution, which has surged in recent years through industrialization and the pandemic era, poses a direct threat to human health. In particular, nanoplastics smaller than 100 nm—thousands of times thinner than a human hair—can readily pass through biological membranes in the body and trigger serious diseases such as immune dysregulation and carcinogenicity.

However, conventional water purification systems have struggled to effectively remove nanoplastics of such small sizes, highlighting technological limitations; studies have even reported the presence of hundreds of thousands of particles in a single bottle of bottled water.

Regenerating lost lymph nodes with bioengineered tissues

The rising incidence of cancer worldwide has led to an increasing number of surgeries that involve the removal of lymph nodes. Although these procedures play a major role in cancer staging and preventing the spread of malignancies, they sometimes come with severe long-term consequences.

Since lymph nodes do not naturally regenerate once removed, their absence can lead to a condition known as secondary lymphedema. It manifests as chronic swelling, discomfort, and reduced mobility in affected limbs or regions, severely affecting a patient’s quality of life.

Scientists May Have Found a Blueprint to Revive Old Cells

Many of the body’s processes slow down or falter as we get older, including tissue regeneration. In a new study, researchers detail a promising method to get this vital repair work back up to speed.

The study, from a team at the University of California, San Francisco, identified four transcription factors – proteins that control the activity of other genes – that have a rejuvenating effect on cells.

When the researchers boosted production of one of these transcription factors in the liver cells of elderly mice, they noticed numerous benefits: fat and scarring were significantly reduced, and glucose tolerance improved – all signs of a more youthful organ.

Distinct SOX9 single-molecule dynamics characterize adult differentiation and fetal-like reprogrammed states in intestinal organoids

New organoid research published in Stem Cell Reports:

Cell press | gairdner foundation | sickkids foundation | california institute for regenerative medicine | uni bayreuth.

Walther and colleagues employed an automated live-cell single-molecule tracking pipeline to study the diffusive behavior of the transcription factor SOX9 during adult differentiation and fetal-like reprogrammed states in intestinal organoid models. The authors linked distinct fractions of chromatin-bound SOX9 molecules to specific cellular states in enteroid monolayers, thereby paving the way to unravel molecular mechanisms underlying differentiation and organoid phenotypes.

A mechanical view on metastasis: Tumor cell viscosity found to guide key steps in cancer spread

Millions of people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer every year. In advanced tumor diseases, cancer cells detach from the original tumor and settle in other parts of the body to form metastases. On their way, they have to be distributed via the body’s own transport system, such as blood or the lymphatic vascular system, and overcome numerous mechanical hurdles.

A multidisciplinary research team has investigated how the mechanical properties of tumor cells circulating through blood vessels influence their metastatic pathways. The results, recently published in Nature Materials, provide important building blocks for understanding metastasis.

Tumor cells leaving the original tissue and settling in distant organs of the body is referred to as metastasis of the primary tumor. Since in most cases it is not the primary tumor but metastases that cause cancer-related deaths, a fundamental understanding of how tumor cells overcome the body’s own barriers is crucial for successful cancer treatment.

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