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A new approach to cancer vaccination yields more powerful T cells

MIT engineers have developed a new way to amplify the T-cell response to mRNA vaccines—an advance that could lead to much more powerful cancer vaccines and stronger protection against infectious diseases.

Most vaccines generate both antibodies and T cells that can target the vaccine antigen by activating antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells. In this study, the researchers boosted the T-cell response with a new type of vaccine adjuvant (a material that can help stimulate the immune system). The new adjuvant consists of mRNA molecules encoding genes that turn on immune signaling pathways and promote a supercharged T-cell response.

In studies in mice, this mRNA-encoded adjuvant enabled the immune system to completely eradicate most tumors, either on its own or delivered along with a tumor antigen. The adjuvant also boosted the T-cell response to vaccines against influenza and COVID-19.

Water-based zinc batteries tackle a barrier that has long blocked cheap, stable renewable energy storage

Renewable energy technologies, such as solar cells and wind turbines, are becoming increasingly widespread in many countries worldwide. Reliably storing the electricity produced by these devices, so that it can be used later at times when sunlight or wind are scarce, would further improve their effectiveness as sustainable energy solutions.

A promising solution to store solar and wind energy entails the use of aqueous zinc (Zn) metal batteries. These are low-cost, safe and environmentally friendly batteries that store and release energy, leveraging water-based solutions and Zn anodes.

Despite their potential, Zn batteries have not yet achieved the desired efficiencies and long-term stability. This is because water molecules can break down during their operation and small structures called Zn dendrites form on the surface of zinc electrodes, both of which were found to reduce performance.

Pharmacological strategies targeting hepatocyte-mediated crosstalk in liver fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is a common pathological outcome of chronic liver injury. Many therapeutic agents show limited clinical efficacy or significant adverse effects due to the complex pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. This challenge underscores the urgent need to identify potential therapeutic targets and improve existing therapies. Hepatocytes serve as pivotal initiators of liver fibrosis that actively engage in signaling crosstalk with other hepatic cell types to promote fibrogenesis. Advances in understanding hepatocyte-centered signaling crosstalk have enabled the identification of potential therapeutic targets. Furthermore, combination therapies that regulate multiple pathways and drug modifications that improve pharmacological properties may help to minimize adverse effects and enhance the efficacy of existing treatments.

Regulation of neuronal invasion of small cell lung cancer by STMN2/β-alanine-controlled metabolic reprogramming

Zhou et al. demonstrate that perineural invasion (PNI) is an adverse prognostic factor in small cell lung cancer. They identify a neuron-STMN2-β-alanine axis, where the neural microenvironment upregulates STMN2 in tumor cells, reprogramming β-alanine metabolism to enhance cell migration and drive neural invasion, revealing a potential therapeutic target.

Neurotransmitter-activated GPCR signaling in myelin plasticity

Myelination is increasingly recognized as a dynamic and adaptive process regulated by oligodendrocytes throughout life. Beyond providing electrical insulation, myelin supports axonal metabolism and may serve as an energy reservoir under metabolic stress, highlighting the importance of physiological myelin turnover. Dysregulation of myelin dynamics contributes to a wide spectrum of neurological disorders, including demyelinating, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric diseases. Growing evidence indicates that neurotransmitter signaling through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) expressed by oligodendrocyte lineage cells regulates myelin formation, remodeling, and repair.

Gut microbiota-derived deoxycholic acid shapes an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and promotes breast cancer progression

Li et al. identify deoxycholic acid as a microbiota-derived driver of breast cancer progression. Deoxycholic acid activates farnesoid X receptor signaling to induce interleukin-6 production, promoting immunosuppressive cell recruitment and establishing a metabolite-driven immune regulatory axis with therapeutic potential.

Brighter red micro-LEDs could help solve full-color display stability challenge

Researchers at The University of Osaka, in collaboration with Ritsumeikan University, have demonstrated that growing europium-doped gallium nitride (Eu-doped GaN) on a semipolar crystal plane dramatically improves red light emission. The team found that this approach selectively promotes the formation of highly efficient Eu luminescent centers, resulting in red emission intensity more than 3.6 times higher than that of conventionally grown polar-plane material.

The study is published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.

Red emitters based on Eu-doped GaN are attracting attention as promising light sources for next-generation micro-LED displays because they can provide narrow-linewidth, wavelength-stable red emission based on intra-4f-shell transitions of Eu ions. This is particularly important for full-color monolithic integration with blue and green InGaN LEDs, where wavelength stability under device operation is essential.

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