Research News

Scientists have known that genetic mutations leading to the production of a defective protein called GFAP cause Alexander disease (AxD), a debilitating neurodegenerative condition that can present during infancy, adolescence, or adulthood.

Caption : Immunofluorescence staining of Alexander Disease iPSC-astrocytes showing cell nuclei (white), cytoplasmic GFAP filaments (magenta), and perinuclear GFAP aggregates (green; marked by yellow arrowheads). Credit  : Lab of Natasha Snider, PhD, UNC School of Medicine

Many people with the rare condition die within the first few years, but some survive for several decades. Now, UNC School of Medicine researchers are learning about the differences in the underlying biology of patients with severe and milder forms of AxD. Led by Natasha Snider, PhD, assistant professor of cell biology, an international group of scientists has discovered that the mutant form of GFAP undergoes different chemical modifications, depending on time of onset of symptoms.

People living with or beyond cancer are more likely to die from stroke than the general public, according to new Penn State research, and certain types of cancer may boost the risk even more.

Scientists at The Wistar Institute applied synthetic DNA-based technology to drive in vivo production of broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies in small and large-animal models, providing proof of concept for a simple and effective next generation approach to HIV prevention and therapy. These results were published online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

A just-released study by UT Health San Antonio and collaborating institutions shows age-related decreases in blood flow to the brain and memory loss can be modified with the drug rapamycin.

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an investigational vaccine that protected cynomolgus macaques against four types of hemorrhagic fever viruses endemic to overlapping regions in Africa. The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and Profectus BioSciences of New York are developing and testing the candidate quadrivalent VesiculoVax vaccine, with support from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Redeemer’s University in Nigeria.

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have found that sesame allergy is common among children with other food allergies, occurring in an estimated 17% of this population. In addition, the scientists have found that sesame antibody testing — whose utility has been controversial — accurately predicts whether a child with food allergy is allergic to sesame. The research was published on Oct. 28 in the journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

In almost all cases of colon cancer, a specific gene is mutated – this offers opportunities to develop broadly effective therapeutic approaches. Research teams in Würzburg have taken this a step further.

If the eIF2B5 gene is inhibited, the colon cancer cells with an APC mutation do not do well: they die. On the left a schematic representation, in the middle cell cultures, on the right organoids. (Image: Armin Wiegering / Universität Würzburg).

Like an adjustable wrench that becomes the “go-to” tool because it is effective and can be used for a variety of purposes, an existing drug that can be adapted to halt the replication of different viruses would greatly expedite the treatment of different infectious diseases. Such a strategy would prevent thousands of deaths each year from diseases like dengue and Ebola, but whether it can be done has been unclear. Now, in new work, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) show that repurposing an existing drug to treat viral diseases is in fact possible – potentially bypassing the decades needed to develop such a broad-spectrum drug from scratch.

A new compound that binds to, and enables MRI imaging of, liver cells in the early stage of disease, has been developed by scientists supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the NIH.

EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation in the European Union for Ervebo (rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP), the first vaccine for active immunisation of individuals aged 18 years and older at risk of infection with the Ebola virus.