Archive for cellular and molecular medicine
Protecting against HIV by tricking the immune system
In making an HIV vaccine, a major goal is to stimulate production of broadly neutralizing antibodies that can fight multiple strains of the frequently changing virus. To date, experimental HIV vaccines haven’t been able to induce these kinds of antibodies. In fact, the immune system actively stops their production, seeing them as a threat. Another ... Read More
Boosting host immune defenses to treat tuberculosis
Current treatment regimens for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, are long, complex, and hard for people to sustain. Moreover, the bacteria often develop drug resistance, and many people harbor multi-drug-resistant strains. In 2018 alone, nearly 1.5 million people died from tuberculosis worldwide. Now, a study in iScience suggests a new approach that ... Read More
Unlocking antibody diversity: chromatin loops, V(D)J recombination, and class switching
A new study from the laboratory of Frederick Alt, PhD, of the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (PCMM) at Boston Children’s Hospital reveals yet another way in which chromatin regulation — changing the configuration of our DNA and its packaging — enables our immune systems to produce its wide-ranging arsenal of antibodies. In September in the ... Read More
Targeting a rogue T cell prevents and reverses multiple sclerosis in mice
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease affecting both adults and children. It’s driven by “helper” T cells, white blood cells that mount an inflammatory attack on the brain and spinal cord, degrading the protective myelin sheath that covers nerve fibers. But there are many different kinds of T helper cells, and up until now, no ... Read More
How new loops in DNA packaging help us make diverse antibodies
Diversity is good, especially when it comes to antibodies. It’s long been known that a gene assembly process called V(D)J recombination allows our immune system to mix and match bits of genetic code, generating new antibodies to conquer newly encountered threats. But how these gene segments come together to be spliced has been a mystery. ... Read More
PET imaging shows if PD-1 cancer immunotherapy is working
PD-1 is a protein on our T cells that normally keeps these immune cells from running amok. A growing number of cancer drugs are designed to inhibit PD-1, enabling patients’ T-cells to attack and kill cancerous cells. PD-1 blockers such as pembrolizumab (Keytruda) have been helpful in treating several cancers including melanoma, non-small cell lung ... Read More
Existing anti-parasitic drug could offer a treatment for Ebola
Amid the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Congo, now threatening to spill into Rwanda, a new study suggests that an existing, FDA-approved drug called nitazoxanide could potentially help contain this deadly, highly contagious infection. In meticulous experiments in human cells, described today in iScience, the drug significantly amplified immune responses to the virus and inhibited ... Read More
First sharp images reveal structure of key inflammatory protein
After decades of attempts by the scientific community, researchers have now provided the first clear look at a protein implicated in a vast array of inflammatory conditions. The finding, published recently in Nature, lifts a blindfold that has hampered scientists’ ability to intervene when the immune system overreacts to perceived threats. The protein, known as ... Read More
Blood stem cell transplants from any donor, without toxicity?
Many blood disorders, immune disorders and metabolic disorders can be cured with a transplant of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, also known as bone marrow transplant. But patients must first receive high-dose, whole-body chemotherapy and/or radiation to deplete their own defective stem cells, providing space for the donor cells to engraft. These “conditioning” regimens are highly ... Read More