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According to a study reported in The Lancet Oncology and led by the University of Pennsylvania researchers, an antibody drug called pembrolizumab that are used to treat other types of cancer may also be as a treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare, aggressive cancer that develops in the thin layer of tissue surrounding the lungs known as the pleura.

MPM is linked to exposure to asbestos fibers. MPM carries a poor prognosis, and the median survival after symptom onset is less than one year. Great efforts have been made to improve the understanding of the devastating disease. But there are still many questions in this field. Currently, effective treatment for MPM is limited.

A new study in Melanoma Research now explain why individuals with a rare type of melanoma fail to respond to targeted therapies and immunotherapies and are more likely to have poor prognosis. The study, led William Robinson from the University of Colorado Cancer Center, shows that co-mutation of NF1 and KIT, and certain mutations in SF3B1 may be potential new therapeutic targets for mucosal melanoma.

Melanoma is a rare but aggressive form of skin cancer: it accounts for only 2% of all skin cancers but causes most deaths from skin cancer. Most cases of melanoma result from too much exposure to ultraviolet radiation whereas some cases arise spontaneously from mucosal tissues. For patients with sun-associated melanomas, targeted therapies and immunotherapies are usually very effective. However, for patients with the mucosal form of the disease, these therapies fail to work.

A study, led by investigators at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute and published in Nature Communications demonstrates that individuals with high levels of GlycA (glycoprotein acetylation) and/or CRP (C-reactive protein) are more likely to have heart diseases. The two molecules might serve as markers to predict the risk of adverse heart events.

The proteins GlycA and CRP have been found to be involved inflammation. Previous studies have suggested that GlycA could predict risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. For healthy people, increased GlycA levels seem to be associated increased production of myriad inflammatory cytokines. According to infection-related hospitalization and death data, increased GlycA seem to elevate the risk of severe non-localized and respiratory infections. CRP is produced by the liver and found in the blood. CRP is an early indicator of an infection or inflammation and its levels can rise quickly. A CRP test that measures the amount of the protein in the blood has already been used to measure general levels of inflammation.

A team of researchers headed by G Engberg from the Karolinska Institutet now reveals that an important neurotransmitter called gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is reduced in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of people with schizophrenia, the most devastating mental disorder. In addition, CSF GABA level is associated with symptom severity. Cusabio offers GABA related proteins and antibodies as well as Recombinant CDHR4.

The results of the study, reported the journal Molecular Psychiatry, adds to the growing body of evidence that GABA plays a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Scientists studying prostate cancer now find that an enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) promotes the metastasis of prostate cancer to bones. The study is a collaboration of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Secondary Military Medical University, and the Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

Metastasis is the major cause of death for cancer patients. For the current study, the researchers sought to determine the mechanism of the metastasis of prostate cancer. They introduced human prostate cancer cell lines into mice and found that MAOA activates multiple signaling pathways, which promote bone and visceral metastases of cancer cells and provide tumor cell growth advantages in the bone microenvironment.

A study in PLoS Genetics provides clues to the formation and disassembly of stress granules, which are aggregates of proteins and RNA molecules that are produced by the cells in response to environmental stress. Given that stress granules have been implicated with many diseases, the study will have profound applications.

The formation of stress granules is crucial for cell survival under different conditions. Unfortunately, they sometimes can cause negative effects. When inappropriately formed, stress granules may lead to the development of certain types of neurological disease. Additionally, stress granules are contributing to chemotherapy resistance and metastasis of cancer cells. However, the mechanism underlying the formation and disassembly of stress granules is not completely understood. The current study, carried out by researchers from Kristin Baetz from the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, advances understanding this mechanism.

Sepsis, also known as the ‘silent killer’, is a serious illness caused by the body’s overwhelming response to infection which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. All types of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, can be the causative agents of sepsis. The condition is notoriously difficult to detect because its primary symptoms mimic the symptoms of some other important conditions such as pneumonia. Consequently, sepsis often is not diagnosed until it has spread throughout the body.

Many sepsis drugs that target microbial products or host response fail to help in clinical trials. Professor Dennis Ko from Duke University believes that these failures are actually failures of diagnosis. Early diagnostic testing will likely improve the identification and management of septic patients. Professor Ko and colleagues at Duke collaborated with researchers at University of Oxford to identify reliable biomarkers for sepsis. Their main finding is that a molecule called methylthioadenosine (MTA) could be a biomarker to predict which patients are most likely to die of sepsis.

A study, reported online March 6, 2017 by Journal of Clinical Investigation and conducted by an international research team consisting of scientists in the USA, China, and India, reveals that pharmacologic activation of CD11b is a promising way to develop therapies for Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus), a chronic, hard-to-treat autoimmune disease that can cause inflammation, pain, and tissue damage throughout the body. Moreover, the researchers find small molecules with the potential to reduce or even eliminate disease symptoms.

The ITGAM gene, which encodes the CD11b protein, has been linked with lupus. Approximately 15-20% of lupus patients have mutations in this gene. Genetic variants in ITGAM are considered one of the strongest genetic risk factors for lupus, although not everyone with these variants develop the disease. For this study, Vineet Gupta, a researcher at the Rush University Medical Center, and other researchers worked together to determine the role of ITGAM mutations in lupus.

Published in Scientific Reports, a study conducted by investigators from Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe Women's University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Mokubo Clinic, and Jikei University School of Medicine reveals that a recently identified autoimmune disease, anti-PIT-1 antibody syndrome, is a result of thymomas.

The disease anti-PIT-1 antibody syndrome was firstly reported in 2011. Previous studies have suggested that the syndrome is characterized by acquired growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) deficiencies without PIT-1 mutation, and is linked with circulating anti-PIT-1 antibodies. However, the pathophysiology and mechanism of the disease is not completely understood.

Opioids are the most effective analgesic drugs. There are many different types of opioids, such as codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, meperidine, morphine, and oxycodone, all of which can cause side effects. Prolonged opioid use can lead to a number of side effects, including opioid addiction and dependence, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, itching, dry mouth, dizziness, constipation, possible coma and trouble breathing.

Now researchers in Germany have developed a novel type of opioid to relieve pain. Experiments in rats demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the novel drug. The study "A nontoxic pain killer designed by modeling of pathological receptor conformations" appears in the respected journal Science. The work is a collaboration of Freie Universitat Berlin and Zuse-Institut Berlin.

Ovarian cancer is a relatively rare but highly lethal disease. Of all gynecologic malignancies, ovarian cancer is the second most common and the leading cause of death. The World Cancer Research Fund International says that about 239,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2012. The five-year survival rate for all stages of ovarian cancer is about 30-50%. The disease is generally advanced when diagnosed due to a lack of early signs. If ovarian cancer is found earlier, treatment works much better. However, the mechanism underlying the metastatic progression of ovarian cancer is largely unknown, impeding the development of drugs for advanced, relapsed disease.

A paper, published 12 December 2016 in the journal Oncogene, now provides a way to inhibit metastasis of ovarian cancer, a discovery that may improve patient prognosis. The researchers said "our studies support a key regulatory role for the fractalkine axis in advanced and relapsed peritoneal metastasis in epithelial ovarian carcinoma." The study is led by Maria Barbolina at the University of Illinois.

Asthma varies in severity and frequency from person to person. For people with mild to moderate disease, appropriate treatment may help control symptoms and prevent asthma attacks. But for people with severe disease, conventional treatments may have limited effect. There is still a need to develop new treatments for these asthmatic patients.

Now a group led by Dr Ruth Saunders the University of Leicester reports in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that an important protein, which is involved in the narrowing of the airway, is up-regulated in patients with severe asthma. The protein, called high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), seems to be linked with increased mucus production. The researchers believe that targeting the protein is a way to control asthma. (Cusabio offers researchers high-quality proteins including HMGB1, and Recombinant Il4r.)

A newest report says that African swine fever, a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease of pigs, has broken out in Chernihiv region, putting at risk large pig populations.
 

A combination of two existing cancer drugs shows efficacy against dengue virus and Ebola virus, according to a study reported by the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Rather than disabling viral components, the drugs target proteins produced by the body that are required for viral infection.

Emerging viral infections constitute a great threat to global health due to a lack effective vaccines or therapies. For example, the West African Ebola epidemic, which began in March 2014, is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976. Although that epidemic has subsided, it could return at any time. As many as 100 million people become infected with dengue virus each year. The dengue virus has 4 subtypes, which hampers the development of a vaccine. Moreover, a secondary infection by a different subtype can cause severe disease.

There's another reason to eat less sugar -- too much sugar confers risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Over 240 new cases of dementia are diagnosed each day in Australia, and a large portion of them is Alzheimer‘s. Simply put, Alzheimer‘s disease is a progressive mental deterioration affecting middle or old aged people, due to generalised degeneration of the brain.

Targeting stromal PAK1 could increase therapeutic response and survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. This is the discovery of a study published 7 February 2017 International Journal of Cancer.

The study, carried out by Australian researchers including Dannel Yeo, Graham S. Baldwin, Hong He, and Mehrdad Nikfarjam from University of Melbourne. Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia and Phoebe Phillips from University of Melbourne. Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia shows that PAK1 may serve as a regulator of the activation, proliferation and apoptosis of pancreatic stellate cells. The study, led by researchers from University of Melbourne and University of New South Wales, suggests that PAK1 could be a therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer.

A study led by Prof Alexander Weber from University of Tübingen now points to a new way to inhibit inflammation. A discovery that would have implications in the treatment of many diseases such as gout, Alzheimer's, atherosclerosis, heart attack or stroke. The paper, titled “Human NLRP3 inflammasome activity is regulated by and potentially targetable via BTK,” is published in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Inflammation is the body's attempt to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, pathogens and irritants, and to initiate healing of tissue. It is a protective response involving host cells, blood vessels and proteins. However, inflammation is also a potentially harmful process. For example, in atherosclerosis, inflammation can deteriorate the condition.

A study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences points to a previously unknown mechanism for thyroid cancer, a disease affecting the thyroid gland. About 90% of all thyroid cancer cases are driven by known genetic alterations, whereas driver mutations in the remaining tumors are unknown. Now the new study finds new genetic mutations in thyroid cancer. This may lead to new treatments for the disease.
Thyroid cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow in the thyroid gland, an organ that makes hormones to regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight. The cancer is relatively uncommon compared to other cancers. Most patients do very well because the cancer is usually found early and treatment works well. Women are much more likely to have thyroid cancer than men. The aggressiveness of thyroid cancer increases significantly in older patients.

Seasonal influenza (flu) virus has three types A, B, and C. Worldwide, the annual epidemics causes about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and about 250 000 to 500 000 deaths.

Now a study presents an approach to detect a type of circulating helper T cells in the blood after an annual flu vaccine. The approach would help determine whether the vaccination is successful. The study involves collaboration between several research centers in the USA, including University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Durham VA Medical Center.

Hearing loss can affect an individual's daily life and social relationship. However, there are various causes for hearing loss, making it difficult to make the right diagnosis of the pathogenesis. Now University of Michigan investigators have identified a new cellular mechanism for hidden hearing loss, an auditory neuropathy that contribute to speech discrimination and intelligibility deficits in individuals considered to have normal hearing in traditional tests. The investigators, including Guoqiang Wan and Gabriel Corfas, have reported their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

Some people complain that they have trouble understanding conversation in noisy environments even though they have passed a hearing test. This is the so-called hidden hearing loss. The condition is caused by loss of inner hair cell synapses. This is the only cellular mechanism discovered to date. Now the new study presents a second cause. It reveals that transient loss of cochlear Schwann cells leads to permanent auditory deficits similar to hidden hearing loss. Better understanding the mechanisms underlying hidden hearing loss would be helpful for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.