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Category: biotech/medical

Researchers discover antitumor potential of CD4 T lymphocytes

In the fight against cancer, immunotherapy—which aims to boost the body’s natural defenses against cancer—is experiencing remarkable growth. Most of these treatments are based on CD8 T lymphocytes, “killer cells” able to eliminate diseased cells. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has explored an alternative approach involving CD4 T lymphocytes.

Long considered mere auxiliary cells, their therapeutic potential has been considered of secondary importance. But the scientists have discovered that they also have a strong killing capacity, while continuing to support other immune cells. Using cell engineering technologies, the team reprogrammed the cells to target a tumor marker found in many cancers, both in adults and children. These results, published in the journal Science Advances, offer hope for a faster therapeutic strategy that could benefit a greater number of patients.

Traditionally considered as auxiliary cells, CD4 T cells produce molecules to support the action of other immune cells by facilitating their functions, migration or proliferation in the organism. The recent work by Camilla Jandus, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology, in the Center for Inflammation Research and in the Translational Research Center in Onco-hematology at the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine, shows that they have been vastly underestimated.

Preliminary Clinical Trial Results Show ‘Dramatic and Rapid’ Regression of Glioblastoma after Next Generation CAR-T Therapy

A collaborative project by Mass General Cancer Center researchers to bring the promise of cell therapy to patients with a deadly form of brain cancer has shown dramatic results among the first patients to receive the novel treatment.

AI matches doctors in mapping lung tumors for radiation therapy

In radiation therapy, precision can save lives. Oncologists must carefully map the size and location of a tumor before delivering high-dose radiation to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. But this process, called tumor segmentation, is still done manually, takes time, varies between doctors—and can lead to critical tumor areas being overlooked.

Now, a team of Northwestern Medicine scientists has developed an AI tool called iSeg that not only matches doctors in accurately outlining on CT scans but can also identify areas that some doctors may miss, reports a large new study.

Unlike earlier AI tools that focused on static images, iSeg is the first 3D deep learning tool shown to segment tumors as they move with each breath—a critical factor in planning , which half of all cancer patients in the U.S. receive during their illness.

How a common herpes virus evades the immune system: Study tackles a leading cause of birth defects

New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and La Jolla Institute for Immunology, published today in Nature Microbiology, reveals an opportunity for developing a therapy against cytomegalovirus (CMV), the leading infectious cause of birth defects in the United States.

Researchers discovered a previously unappreciated mechanism by which CMV, a that infects the majority of the world’s adult population, enters cells that line the blood vessels and contributes to vascular disease. In addition to using molecular machinery that is shared by all herpes viruses, CMV employs another molecular “key” that allows the virus to sneak through a side door and evade the body’s natural immune defenses.

The finding might explain why efforts to develop prophylactic treatments against CMV have, so far, been unsuccessful. This research also highlights a new potential avenue for the development of future and suggests that other viruses of the herpes family, such as Epstein-Barr and chickenpox, could use similar molecular structures to spread from one infected cell to the next while avoiding immune detection.

Self-aggregating long-acting injectable microcrystals

This study reports on self-aggregating injectable microcrystals for administering long-acting drug implants via low-profile needles, a key factor in patient adoption. Microcrystal self-aggregation is engineered through a solvent exchange process to form depots with minimal polymer excipient, demonstrating enhanced long-term release of a model contraceptive drug in rodents.

Dysfunctional mitochondria trap proteins in the intermembrane space

ImageimagePoorly energized mitochondria trap a subpopulation of mitochondrial precursor proteins in the intermembrane space. This article introduces ‘mitochondrial triage of precursor proteins’ (MitoTraP) as a mechanism that prevents the mistargeting of non-imported proteins to the nucleus and reduces proteotoxic effects.

‘She is the only person in the world compatible with herself’ — scientists discover new blood type but it’s unique to just one person from Guadeloupe

After years of study, scientists have discovered a new blood type in a woman from Guadeloupe. They’re now searching for more people with the characteristic.