It was observed by a team of researchers including Gilles Hickson, an assistant professor at the University of Montreal's Department of Pathology and Cell biology and researcher at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, his assistant Silvana Jananji, in collaboration with Nelio
it can be a source for triggering cancer, for example,"said Hickson. It is well known that microscopic cable-like structures,
and to certain diseases,"said Hickson, who has devoted the last 15 years of his research life to cell biology.
In fact, all cancers are unchecked characterised by cell division, and the underpinning processes are potential targets for therapeutic interventions that prevent cancer onset and spread."
"But before we get there, we must continue to expand our knowledge about the basic processes
Ultimately, this could help the rational design of more specific therapies to inhibit the division of cancer cells,
#Scientists find molecular switch that creates long-term immunity Melbourne researchers have identified a protein responsible for preserving the antibody-producing cells that lead to long-term immunity after infection or vaccination.
Their findings were published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Dr Good-Jacobson said plasma cells were created
when the immune system was exposed to pathogens such as viruses or bacteria.""When our immune system encounters a new pathogen,
it can create plasma cells that secrete antibodies to specifically prevent future infections, generating immunity, "she said."
"Our bone marrow is like a long-term storage facility for plasma cells, allowing them to continue producing antibodies to protect against future infections.
Until now, it was known not why some plasma cells moved into the bone marrow, while others remained in the blood stream
we might be able to encourage the immune system to create long-term immunity for a range of infections."
improving the design of antibodies to better recognise invading pathogens in the future, "she said.""The Myb protein marks the plasma cells that produce high-quality antibodies for preservation."
"Some pathogens, such as malaria, typically trigger the creation of short-lived plasma cells. If we don't create long-lived plasma cells,
we don't develop lasting immunity to the disease. If we can trigger the expression of Myb in plasma cells responding to pathogens
-either by infection or by immunisation-we might be able to convince the immune system to store these plasma cells in the bone marrow to offer protection against future infections
#Researchers create model of early human heart development from stem cells Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley,
who is co-senior author of the study with Dr. Bruce Conklin, a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular disease and a professor of medical genetics and cellular and molecular pharmacology at UC San francisco."
"This technology could help us quickly screen for drugs likely to generate cardiac birth defects, and guide decisions about
a drug known to cause severe birth defects. They found that at normal therapeutic doses, the drug led to abnormal development of microchambers, including decreased size,
problems with muscle contraction and lower beat rates compared with heart tissue that had not been exposed to thalidomide."
The most commonly reported birth defects involve the heart, and the potential for generating cardiac defects is of utmost concern in determining drug safety during pregnancy."
cells along the edge experienced greater mechanical stress and tension, and appeared more like fibroblasts,
which is an imperfect model for human disease.""The researchers pointed out that while this study focused on heart tissue,
This breakthrough was published yesterday in the scientific journal PLOS Pathogens and will be presented at the upcoming IAS 2015 conference in Vancouver.
The findings pave the way for future HIV prevention or cure strategies. The study's goal was to determine how HIV manages to compromise antiviral responses in the initial period of infection,
also called the acute infection stage, during which the virus establishes itself in the body.
The acute infection is considered a critical period in determining the complexity, extent and progression of the disease.
It is also during this stage that HIV establishes latent infection in long-lasting cellular reservoirs.
These viral reservoirs, which harbour the virus out of sight from the immune system and antiviral drugs, represent the primary barrier to a cure."
"An important component in this process is a group of proteins collectively called type 1 Interferons,
which are the immune system's first line of defence against viral infections and are known to have a beneficial role in the early stages of HIV infection,
"says Dr. Cohen, Director of the Human Retrovirology research unit at the IRCM.""The problem is that HIV has developed mechanisms to suppress the Interferon response and, until now,
"Most of the Interferon is produced by a very small population of immune cells called pdcs (plasmacytoid dendritic cells), responsible for providing immediate defence against infections.
when they recognize the presence of a pathogen, they secrete Interferon. The Interferon then triggers a large array of defence mechanisms in nearby cells, creating an antiviral state that prevents the dissemination and, ultimately,
and leads to persistent infection, "adds Dr. Bego.""We found that HIV, through Vpu, takes advantage of the role played by BST2 by maintaining its ability to activate ILT7 and limit the production of Interferon,
""The hope for a definitive cure and an effective vaccine has been frustrated by HIV's endless propensity to subvert the host's defences
despite antiretroviral therapy,"describes Dr. Cohen, who also leads Cancure, a team of leading Canadian researchers working towards an HIV cure."
"Our findings can provide tools to enhance antiviral responses during the early stages of infection.
By blocking Vpu's action, we could prevent early viral expansion and dissemination, while also allowing pdcs to trigger effective antiviral responses.
We believe that such interventions during primary infection have the potential to limit the establishment and complexity of viral reservoirs,
or wiped out during early periods of infection, will bring us closer to ending HIV/AIDS,
this new study will advance research for an HIV cure
#Malaria's key to the liver uncovered Scientists uncover a port of liver entry for malaria parasites in a report published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
If these results hold up in humans, drugs that target this entry protein might help prevent the spread of disease.
Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum, which is transmitted to humans via mosquito bite. Recent efforts to limit parasite transmission and increase treatment coverage has reduced the number of malaria-related deaths,
but the parasite still causes roughly 200 million new infections and half a million deaths worldwide each year.
The first stop for malaria parasites in humans is the liver where a few organisms multiply into tens of thousands,
which are released then into the bloodstream. Passage through the liver is essential for the parasite to establish a productive infection and cause disease,
and the bug's entry route has been traced to specialized liver cells called Kupffer cells. But exactly how the parasite traverses these cells is not clear.
A team of scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health now find that a Kupffer cell protein called CD68 is needed for parasite passage and efficient liver infection,
If this reduction is sufficient to substantially limit blood infections (and thus disease CD68 may represent a potential new drug target in the fight against malaria a
#Study finds non-genetic cancer mechanism Cancer can be caused solely by protein imbalances within cells,
a study of ovarian cancer has found. The discovery is a major breakthrough because, until now, genetic aberrations have been seen as the main cause of almost all cancer.
The research, published today in the journal Oncogene, demonstrates that protein imbalance is a powerful prognostic tool,
indicating whether or not patients are likely to respond to chemotherapy and whether a tumour is likely to spread to other sites.
The findings also open the possibility of new therapies aimed at measuring and preventing dangerous imbalances in cells.
whether you have a predisposition to cancer and, ultimately, use a precision medicine-based approach to develop a therapeutic approach.
Our study demonstrates that genetic screening alone is not enough.""The research, led by scientists at the University of Leeds and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, focused on the"Akt pathway,
"a signalling pathway within cells that drives cancer formation and the spread of cancers through the body.
Under normal conditions, the cell receives external signals through a cell wall-bound receptor (FGFR2 in this study.
A conventional approach to diagnosing this cancer would be to look for genetic modification of the receptor
In this way, an imbalance in the amount of the two proteins can lead to cell proliferation and cancer formation.
which cancer can occur. We found that in cells where Grb2 is depleted, FGFR2 was vulnerable to Plc?
indicating that protein imbalance can have a role in metastasis, the spread of a cancer through the body.
1 was predictive of the progress of ovarian cancers in patients. Measuring the levels of the proteins in patient tissues followed by database analysis of clinical information from The Cancer Genome Atlas
and other sources revealed that a high level of Grb2 relative to Plc? 1 and FGFR2 was associated with a significantly more favourable prognosis than patients with elevated levels of Plc?
They could offer information to clinicians on who is going to benefit from therapy and, just as importantly, who is not.
On the treatment side, the proteins'interaction could be a valid therapeutic target: you could, for instance, target Plc?
"Previous research findings have emphasised the roots of cancer in genetic mutation. Some studies have pointed to cancers that occur without genetic causes,
such as through epigenetic modifications of proteins, however the present study reveals that signalling though cell wall-based receptors can occur without receptor activation
and therefore that non-genetic causes may be critical to understanding cancer in large numbers of patients.
The researchers are now working with clinicians at the University of Leeds to study the same mechanisms in other forms of cancer.
Evaluating this drug-induced liver injury is a critical part of pharmaceutical drug discovery and must be carried out on human liver cells.
Oren Shibolet, Head of the Liver Unit at the Tel-aviv Sourasky Medical center, who was involved not in this study."
Two major not-for-profit US organisations, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Institute of Medicine (Iom), are planning an international summit in the Autumn as part of an attempt to agree clinical and ethical standards
or exploring the mechanisms behind conditions such as diabetic neuropathy.''The problem is that unlike blood, a skin sample or even a tissue biopsy,
you can't take a piece of a patient's neural system, 'said lead author Dr Mick Bhatia from Mcmaster University in Hamilton, Canada.
and make the main cell types of neurological systems-the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system-in a dish that is specialised for each patient.'
Other applications could be in better understanding neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, or to produce retinal neural cells for patients with age-related macular degeneration.'
meaning they accumulate injuries over time, which can be severe. For example, they might frequently bite their tongues and the insides of their mouths,
The team, from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, showed that the blood test could detect Down's syndrome in 99 percent of cases.
'The test-known as RAPID-is already available privately at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Later this month, the researchers will present their findings to the UK National Screening Committee,
#Study paves way for genetics-first approach to brain cancer treatment Two US studies have identified specific genetic mutations in gliomas
'This molecular data helps us better classify glioma patients, so we can begin to understand who needs to be treated more aggressively
and who might be able to avoid unnecessary therapies, 'said Dr Daniel Lachance from the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota,
who was involved in one of the studies, both of which were published in the New england Journal of Medicine.
Gliomas are tumours which develop from the glial cells of the brain and spine, and make up 80 percent of malignant brain tumours.
Patients who develop gliomas are treated usually with a combination of radiotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy; however it is currently difficult to work out how useful these treatments will be.
The studies, one led by the Mayo Clinic and University of California, San francisco, and the other coordinated by the National institutes of health, analysed 1, 380 tumours in total.
Using previous studies into tumour biology, three mutations were identified in patients with gliomas. Tumours taken from glioma patients were scored as positive or negative for these mutations,
which led to the creation of five categories of mutation combinations. The genetic profiles of the tumours were associated then with patient age, prognosis and the response of the tumour type to different treatments.
For example tumours with one genetic profile were shown to grow slowly, and respond well to drug treatment,
so this profile was identified as being treated best with a combination of therapies, involving both radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
This profiling would allow doctors to choose the most appropriate treatment for an individual glioma patient based on their genetic classification.
as survival statistics would be specific to the glioma type, as opposed to the general class of glioma.
Currently histology is used to classify gliomas by their visual characteristics; however this method is not sufficiently effective to predict how the glioma will respond to therapy.
Doctors are also often unable to predict how aggressive a tumour will behave over a long period of time.'
'These markers will potentially allow us to predict the course of gliomas more accurately, treat them more effectively
and identify more clearly what causes them in the first place, 'said Professor Margaret Wrensch from the University of California,
San francisco and co-author of the study. Writing in an editorial, Dr David Ellison of St jude Children's Research Hospital,
said:''Both studies can justifiably claim that molecular classification captures the biologic features of glioma variants better than does histopathological evaluation,
even though grade remains an independent prognostic indicator
#Miniature brain'organoids'offer model for autism Scientists have grown miniature brains out of stem cells from people with autism,
and have found that they overproduce one type of neuron. These tiny brain'organoids'three-dimensional clusters of cells, just a few millimetres across mimic the brains of early fetuses
and allow scientists to study early neurological development in a way that was not possible before. Previous studies have looked at the genomes of those with autism to identify the genes that might be responsible,
but 80 percent of autism cases have no clear genetic cause. This is the first study to use brain organoids to investigate the disorder
which is characterised by social and communication difficulties.''Instead of starting from genetics, we've started with the biology of the disorder itself to try to get a window into the genome,
The researchers took skin cells from four adolescent males with autism and from their fathers who were unaffected by the disorder.
Despite the fact that autism is a complex collection of disorders, the researchers found several clear differences between the brain organoids from the autistic boys and those from their fathers.
'Professor Vaccarino is hopeful that this approach to studying autism, as well as other brain disorders, can offer new insights.'
'This study speaks to the importance of using human cells to bring a better understanding of the pathophysiology of autism and, with that, possibly better treatments. e
#Bubble delivery can rescue failing drug candidates, says Oxford team The technique has the support of pharma companies including GSK and Pfizer,
The professor told in-Pharmatechnologist. com the method can be used to help small and large molecule medicines hone in on their targets. ith all therapies that are used currently particularly cancer the major problem is very little of the drug makes it to the target site.
That true of both conventional and antibody therapy. e inject drugs into the bloodstream and they go absolutely everywhere,
which are used already in the clinic. The active drug part can sit within the shell, inside another layer of liquid,
The inert bubble is administered via injection. ecause it full of gas it squishy and compressible, said Stride. hen we expose it to ultrasound that will break the shell and release the drug. ew dawn for ADCS,
New substrate opens door to mass produced regenerative therapies The polymer which is called poly (HPHMA-co-HEMA)- combines N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) methacrylamide and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate.
and the same substrate allows the differentiation of the expanded pluripotent stem cells to cells useful in therapies, specifically we demonstrated cardiomyocytes, hepatocyte-like cells,
or factories each capable of supporting the production of billions of human pluripotent stem cells for applications in regenerative medicine and transplants.
and for regenerative therapies according to Professor Chris Denning. He told us: or these stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, the value lies in understanding disease, testing to make safer drugs and potential for translation into cell therapy.
For straight production of, say, recombinant proteins, there are easier and cheaper ways. ource: Advanced Materialsiscovery of a Novel Polymer for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Expansion and Multi-lineage Differentiationoi:
New substrate opens door to mass produced regenerative therapies Mass produced regenerative therapies are a step closer say UK researchers who have developed a polymer substrate they claim can be used to set up tem cell factories.
and the same substrate allows the differentiation of the expanded pluripotent stem cells to cells useful in therapies,
or factories each capable of supporting the production of billions of human pluripotent stem cells for applications in regenerative medicine and transplants.
and for regenerative therapies according to Professor Chris Denning. He told us: or these stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, the value lies in understanding disease, testing to make safer drugs and potential for translation into cell therapy.
For straight production of, say, recombinant proteins, there are easier and cheaper ways. ource: Advanced Materialsiscovery of a Novel Polymer for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Expansion and Multi-lineage Differentiationoi:
and for personalized medicine. The new optical attachment, which includes a lens, filter, mount and laser diode in a 3d printed case, can image and size DNA molecules 50,000 times thinner than a human hair.
Scientists see the technology being used in remote laboratory settings to diagnose cancers and central nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer
and to detect drug resistance in infectious diseases. Bringing techniques and testing that is normally confined to a laboratory or hospital, out into the field,
or right into a patient home is a theme in Ozcan lab. His lab, s working on computational optical technologies that aim for microscopy, imaging, sensing and diagnostic applications,
unlike traditional techniques that are using instruments that you normally find in a lab or hospital,
and enable telemedicine and mobile health, but there also another angle that makes them attractive,
such as diagnosing and tracking Malaria and TB. It can also be applied to blood diseases, like sickle cell anemia,
or be used to look at contamination, for example in food or milk. The team has been able to convert the mobile phone into a sensitive E-coli or giardia detector,
one of the most frequently encountered pathogens, Ozcan said. It can also be used for simple tests that are done normally only at hospitals
such as total count of red or white blood cells. In the home and in the fielddoctors in the field, an convert a simple nurse office or a point of care office into an advanced testing infrastructure, Ozcan said. hey can,
for example, look at a Malaria infected patient, or TB infected patient and potentially decide on a drug choice based on some of the genetic testing copy number variations of certain genes that you would find in the sample taken from the patient. he technology also removes barriers to testing that cities
or small villages might have, including the cost of shipping and sending of specimen, or lack of experts in the immediate area. f you were to have these microscopes that are extremely cost effective,
a simple nurse or a healthcare technician can prepare specimen and image them, where the images are transferred then to an expert professional pathologist that is maybe 1,
For example, someone with diabetes who has chronic kidney problems. If the person needed to be tested every few hours, before a meal, after a meal,
it would be very valuable information for your doctor to be able to track your condition,
and our aging population. ext up the researchers plan to test their device in the field to detect the presence of malaria-related drug resistance.
and can turn a routine hospital stay into a nightmare. A 2015 Health Canada report estimates that superbugs have already cost Canadians $1 billion,
Each year two million people in the U s. contract antibiotic-resistant infections, and at least 23,000 people die as a direct result.
hindering doctorsability to treat bacterial infections quickly. Now Ph d. researcher Justin Besant and his team at the University of Toronto have designed a small and simple chip to test for antibiotic resistance in just one hour,
giving doctors a shot at picking the most effective antibiotic to treat potentially deadly infections.
Resistant bacteria arise in part because of imprecise use of antibioticshen a patient comes down with an infection,
the doctor wants to treat it as quickly as possible. Samples of the infectious bacteria are sent to the lab for testing
In the meantime, the doctor prescribes her patient a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Sometimes the one-size-fits-all antibiotic works
the doctor can prescribe a specific antibiotic more likely to kill the bacteria. uessing can lead to resistance to these broad-spectrum antibiotics,
and in the case of serious infections, to much worse outcomes for the patient, says Besant. e wanted to determine
Besant and his team, including his supervisor Professor Shana Kelley of the Institute for Biomaterials & Biomedical engineering and the Faculties of Pharmacy and Medicine,
says Professor Sargent. e see this as an effective tool for faster diagnosis and treatment of commonplace bacterial infections.
and this is something you could see in a doctor office, for example, says Besant. he next step would be to create a device that would allow you to test many different antibiotics at many different concentrations,
and save thousands of dollars per transplant, a UCLA study has found. Working with Onelegacy, the nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization serving the greater Los angeles area, UCLA researchers measured liver function in 53 potential organ donors in a blind study
an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Liver and Pancreas Transplantation. his device is best single predictor of organ survival in our patients,
The study appears in the early online edition of the Journal of Surgical Research. Although there are accurate and reliable function tests for other donor organs
a surgical team from the recipient medical center is dispatched to the donor location to visually inspect
On the flip side, an organ from a patient with a questionable history or borderline laboratory results may be considered a waste of the surgical team time and the retrieval effort abandoned.
so its use could increase of number of organs used for transplant. lthough the number of transplant candidates continues to grow,
resulting in more patients dying while on transplant waiting lists, Zarrinpar said. his device, which can be used in any hospital,
could help increase the number of donor livers and help save very sick patients waiting for transplant.
The device operates much like a pulse oximeter, which attaches to the finger to measure oxygen in the blood.
This novel, noninvasive and rapid test successfully predicted which livers would function properly in transplant patients,
A liver transplant may involve the whole liver, a reduced liver, or a liver segment.
Most transplants involve the whole organ, but transplants using segments of the liver have been performed with increasing frequency in recent years.
This would allow two liver recipients to be transplanted from one donor or to allow for living donor liver donation.
Currently, about 17,000 adults and children have been approved medically for liver transplants and are donated waiting for livers to become available,
The research was funded by the Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center and the National institutes of health Source: University of California Los Angele t
such as new therapeutics, might bind to them. Cheng plans to use CRYO EM to examine the same molecule that Watson, Crick,
#New Sensing Tech Could Help Detect Diseases, Fraudulent Art, Chemical weapons From airport security detecting explosives to art historians authenticating paintings,
the photonics advancement aims to improve our ability to detect trace amounts of molecules in diseases,
Kai Liu. he ability to detect even smaller amounts of chemical and biological molecules could be helpful with biosensors that are used to detect cancer,
Malaria, HIV and other illnesses. It could be useful identifying chemicals used in certain types of paint.
#South korea Reports its First 2 Deaths From MERS Virus South korea on Tuesday confirmed the country's first two deaths from Middle east Respiratory Syndrome as it fights to contain the spread of a virus that has killed hundreds
South korea has reported 24 cases of the disease since diagnosing the country's first MERS illness last month in a man who had traveled to Saudi arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
Most of South korea's cases have had connections to the first patient-either medical staff who treated him
or patients who stayed near him at the hospital before he was diagnosed and isolated, and their family members.
Tests on a 58-year-old woman who died of acute respiratory failure Monday showed she had been infected with the disease before her death,
the Health Ministry said in a statement. A 71-year-old man who tested positive for the virus last week also died,
The statement said both stayed at the same hospital with the first patient. Health officials said Tuesday that about 750 people in South korea were isolated at their homes
More than 50 schools and kindergartens near a hospital near Seoul where the 58-year-old patient who died was treated have canceled classes from Wednesday to Friday to let children stay home, according to the education agency in Gyeonggi province,
Last week, the son of one of the patients ignored doctor's orders to cancel a trip to China,
China isolated the South korean man at a hospital, and Hong kong authorities said Sunday that 18 travelers were being quarantined
It belongs to the family of coronaviruses that includes the common cold and SARS and can cause fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.
The virus has spread primarily through contact with camels, but it can also spread from human fluids and droplets.
170 cases of the virus worldwide and about 480 of the patients have died, according to the European Center for Disease prevention and Control.
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