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Researchers investigate microbiome-mediated therapies for aging and health span

Texas Biomedical Research Institute Associate Professor Corinna Ross, PhD, is a principal investigator on a $3.38 million National Institutes of Health multi-investigator grant to study "microbiome-mediated therapies for aging and healthspan" in marmosets, which are small monkeys native to South America and are becoming increasingly more important in aging and infectious disease research.

18 Dec 2020

Tumor DNA in DLBCL patient's stem cells or blood can predict risk of relapse after transplant

Many patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) can be cured by a transplant using their own blood-forming stem cells, but as many as half eventually relapse. New research led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists suggests that patients whose blood or stem cell samples harbor tumor DNA are likely to relapse.

8 Dec 2020

Scientists reveal health benefits of clonal hematopoiesis in allogeneic transplants

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is a recently identified condition in which mutations associated with blood cancers are detected in the blood of some healthy, usually older, individuals who don't have cancer. People with CH, while asymptomatic, have an elevated risk of developing blood cancers and other negative health outcomes, including heart attacks and strokes.

7 Dec 2020

Study: Gut microbiota directly shapes the makeup of human immune system

In recent years, the microbiota -- the community of bacteria and other microorganisms that live on and in the human body -- has captured the attention of scientists and the public, in part because it's become easier to study. It has been linked to many aspects of human health.

1 Dec 2020

Study may lead to new strategies that minimize inflammatory reactions after cell transplants

The term leukaemia is used to describe a group of malignant diseases of the haematopoietic system, in which precursors of the white blood cells (leucocytes) proliferate uncontrollably.

20 Nov 2020

Somatic mutation acts as natural gene therapy in patients with GATA2 deficiency

Researchers affiliated with the Center for Cell-Based Therapy (CTC) in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, have identified for the first time a non-hereditary mutation in blood cells from a patient with GATA2 deficiency, a rare autosomal disease caused by inherited mutations in the gene that encodes GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2).

18 Nov 2020

Bacterial microbes in the human gut could help diagnose and treat autism spectrum disorder

Every year, 1 out of 54 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and the count has been increasing, reports the Centers for Disease Research.

16 Nov 2020

Researchers identify a new solution for treating ligament injuries

Ligament injuries that affect scores of regular citizens and athletes are sidelined every year. Added to this, recovery is painful and takes a long time and, at times, a return to normal function is never achieved because of the formation of scars—an aspect that makes ligament injuries inclined to more damage.

4 Nov 2020

Gut microbes mitigate radiation exposure, repair GI tract

A new study by scientists at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and colleagues published Oct. 30, 2020, in Science, showed that mice exposed to potentially lethal levels of total body radiation were protected from radiation damage if they had specific types of bacteria in their gut.

2 Nov 2020

Sodium bicarbonate can reprogram T cells in leukemia patients

Scientists have discovered that sodium bicarbonate - also known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda - can reprogram T cells in leukemia patients to resist the immune-suppressing effects of cancer cells, which can drive leukemia relapse after stem cell transplants.

29 Oct 2020

Dual-chip system for monitoring heart toxicity from breast cancer drugs

Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer for women around the world, and much effort has been spent in the development of therapies to treat this disease.

27 Oct 2020

New method for producing FTVI enzyme could enhance therapeutic potential of cord blood transplants

A new way of producing an enzyme called fucosyltransferase VI (FTVI) in the lab could help enhance the therapeutic potential of cord blood transplants.

23 Oct 2020

Researchers uncover a new cellular mechanism for disposing of misfolded proteins

About 30 years ago, Dr. Richard Sifers set out on a journey to discover why people with a rare condition known as alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency present with high variation in the severity of liver disease.

21 Oct 2020

Stem cells that promote bone repair can also generate arthritic bone spurs

The same stem cells that heal broken bones can also generate arthritic bone spurs called osteophytes, according to a new study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

13 Oct 2020

Immune cell biomarker may help identify patients at risk for graft-versus-host disease

A recent report published in Science Translational Medicine by MUSC Hollings Cancer Center investigator Sophie Paczesny, M.D., Ph.D., sheds light on immune cell biomarkers that may reveal which patients are most at risk for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a life-threatening condition that can arise after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for treatment of liquid cancers such as leukemia.

8 Oct 2020

Microneedles For Therapeutic Gene Delivery

There is great potential in gene therapy for treating certain types of cancer and genetic defects, immunological diseases, wounds and infections.

7 Oct 2020

Researchers map genetic networks controlling human regulatory T cell identity

Unlike most T cells, which launch immune responses against foreign molecules, regulatory T cells are the peacekeepers of the human immune system, damping down inflammatory reactions when they're not needed.

5 Oct 2020

New method delivers promising anti-rejection drug to area surrounding a grafted heart

For patients who receive a heart transplant in the near future, the old adage, "Good things come in small packages," may become words to live by.

4 Sep 2020

Shielded stem cells can improve heart healing

Ghanta, R.K., et al. (2020) Immune-modulatory alginate protects mesenchymal stem cells for sustained delivery of reparative factors to ischemic myocardium. Biomaterials Science. doi.org/10.1039/D0BM00855A.

19 Aug 2020

Combination regimen improves overall survival in acute myeloid leukemia patients

A combination regimen of venetoclax and azacitidine was safe and improved overall survival (OS) over azacitidine alone in certain patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to the Phase III VIALE-A trial led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Aug 2020