Connecting You to Tomorrow's Biotechnology Innovations
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that a protein called Munc13-4 helps cancer cells secrete large numbers of exosomes—tiny, membrane-bound packages containing proteins and RNAs that stimulate tumor progression. The study, which will be published June 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology, could lead to new therapies that stop tumor growth and metastasis by […]
CAR T-cell immunotherapy targeting HER2 protein on cancer cells aims to provide children and young adults who have limited treatment options with a second line of defense Seattle Children’s has opened a pioneering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy trial for children and young adults with relapsed or refractory HER2-positive central nervous system (CNS) tumors […]
Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of precision genetic medicine to treat rare neuromuscular diseases, said that at the Company’s R&D Day, Jerry Mendell, M.D. of Nationwide Children’s Hospital presented positive preliminary results from its Phase 1/2a gene therapy clinical trial assessing AAVrh74.MHCK7.micro-Dystrophin in individuals with Duchenne muscular […]
Researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto have discovered that epigenetic proteins promote the proliferation of mammary gland stem cells in response to the sex hormone progesterone. The study, which will be published June 19 in the Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that inhibiting these proteins with drugs could prevent the development of breast […]
Proteins commonly known as BRCA – short for BReast CAncer susceptibility gene– serve a critical role in cellular DNA repair, but when mutated they allow genetic errors to replicate, facilitating cancer development. If the BRCA repair system is disabled in cancer cells, the cells simply turn to backup repair mechanisms and adapt to alternative repair […]
Researchers led by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have identified a new subtype of prostate cancer that occurs in about 7 percent of patients with advanced disease. The subtype is characterized by loss of the gene CDK12. It was found to be more common in metastatic prostate cancer compared to early stage tumors […]
The world-first discovery of a key metabolic hormone found in the venom and gut of Australia’s iconic platypus will now be investigated for its potential to treat type 2 diabetes, in new research led by the University of Adelaide. In a collaboration between the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, Monash University, SAHMRI and the Royal […]
A team of Penn State researchers has developed a biomimetic nanosystem to deliver therapeutic proteins to selectively target cancerous tumors. Using a protein toxin from a plant found in the Himalayan mountains, called gelonin, the researchers caged the proteins in self-assembled metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles to protect them from the body’s immune system. To enhance […]
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, announced positive top-line results from its multinational Phase II clinical study of PLX-PAD cells in the treatment of Intermittent Claudication (IC). PLX-PAD treatment reduced Incidence of revascularization and improved patients’ mobility. Study results also validate the design of Pluristem’s ongoing Pivotal Phase III study […]
Researchers at UC Davis have confirmed that autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant improves survival for people suffering from multiple myeloma, yet many potentially eligible patients never undergo the procedure. Using data from two extensive California databases, the team showed median overall survival for transplant patients was around 73 months, while controls who did not receive […]
As the result of a six-year long research process, Fredrick R. Schumacher, PhD, a cancer epidemiology researcher at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and an international team of more than 100 colleagues have identified 63 new genetic variations that could indicate higher risk of prostate cancer in men of European descent. The findings, […]
Changes in cellular struts called microtubules (MT) can affect the stiffness of diseased human heart muscle cells, and reversing these modifications can lessen the stiffness and improve the beating strength of these cells isolated from transplant patients with heart failure, found researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. This Nature […]
Researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center have discovered a therapy combination that may be helpful in the treatment of certain types of ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. According to the American Cancer Society, about 22,240 […]
By altering the genetic code in bacteria, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have demonstrated a method to make therapeutic proteins more stable, an advance that would improve the drugs’ effectiveness and convenience, leading to smaller and less frequent doses of medicine, lower health care costs and fewer side effects for patients with […]
New research funded by March of Dimes has found biomarkers in maternal blood that accurately identified pregnant women who would go on to deliver babies up to two months prematurely. The findings were published today in the journal Science. This finding is important as doctors do not currently have ways to accurately assess which pregnancies […]
Early Detection Using Real-Time Symptom Reports May Help with Timely Treatment Machine learning using real-time symptom reports can accurately detect lymphedema, a distressing side effect of breast cancer treatment that is more easily treated when identified early, finds a new study led by NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and published in the journal mHealth. “Using […]
A group of researchers from Mayo Clinic and Exact Sciences Corporation have completed a phase II study comparing a set of DNA markers to alpha fetoprotein as a method to test for liver cancer. The researchers presented their findings today at the 2018 Digestive Disease Week conference in Washington, D.C. “We currently test for liver cancer using ultrasound and a blood […]
Microbubbles delivered via gas embolotherapy could provide a vehicle for cutting off blood supply and delivering drugs. Embolization — the use of various techniques to cut off the blood vessels that feed tissue growth — has gained traction over the past few decades to treat cancerous tumors. This method of starving tumors of blood supply […]
Clinical trials show that an immune checkpoint inhibitor shrinks the tumors of nearly half of patients with an incurable, advanced form of a common skin cancer, an international team led by a researcher at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the New England Journal of Medicine. “These results mark a potential paradigm shift in the […]
Scientists have uncovered a completely new way to make cancers sensitive to treatment – by targeting antenna-like structures on cells. Their study found that drug-resistant cancer cells have more and longer antennae than those which are killed by treatment. Blocking the growth of antennae reactivated a range of cancer treatments that had stopped working, the […]