For men and women affected with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), blood thinners are the main treatment option. “Unfortunately, treatment with blood thinners does not prevent all cases of blood clotting in APS,” says Jason Knight, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of rheumatology at Michigan Medicine. APS is an autoimmune condition characterized by blood clots in both […]
Researchers identify how liver cells protect against viral attacks
Liver cells have an innate resistance to RNA viral infections like hepatitis A, dengue and Zika thanks to a protein called IRF1, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (TMIMS). When present in liver cells, this IRF1 protein regulates RARRES3, an enzyme […]
‘Moving target’ breast cancer cells revealed by new imaging technique
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have developed a new imaging technique to visualise key steps in the evolution of cancer cells within tumours, potentially revealing how breast cancers evade treatment. Using a laboratory model of breast cancer, the researchers were able to view tumours in three dimensions, at previously unachievable high resolution. This revealed […]
In vivo data show effects of spaceflight microgravity on stem cells and tissue regeneration
A new review of data from 12 spaceflight experiments and simulated microgravity studies has shown that microgravity does not have a negative effect on stem-like cell-dependent tissue regeneration in newts, but in some tissues regeneration is faster and more robust. This valuable in vivo data has implications for understanding and managing the ability for repair […]
Squishing blood stem cells could facilitate harvest for transplants
Scientists at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Georgia Tech have found that modulating blood-forming stem cells’ stiffness could possibly facilitate mobilization procedures used for stem cell-based transplants. Temporary squishiness could help drive blood-forming stem cells out of the bone marrow and into the blood, but the cells need to […]
Genetically encoded sensor isolates hidden leukemic stem cells
All stem cells can multiply, proliferate and differentiate. Because of these qualities, leukemic stem cells are the most malignant of all leukemic cells. Understanding how leukemic stem cells are regulated has become an important area of cancer research. A team of Tel Aviv University researchers have now devised a novel biosensor that can isolate and […]
Pioneering trial offers hope for restoring brain cells damaged in Parkinson’s
Results from a pioneering clinical trials programme that delivered an experimental treatment directly to the brain offer hope that it may be possible to restore the cells damaged in Parkinson’s. The multimillion-pound study, funded by Parkinson’s UK with support from The Cure Parkinson’s Trust and in association with the North Bristol NHS Trust, aimed to […]
Sleep boosts immune systems by making blood cells more able to attack
Sleep off your sickness: Slumber boosts our immune systems by making white blood cells more able to attack Researchers analysed blood taken from participants when asleep and awake Body showed higher levels of a specific T-cell function while asleep A certain group of molecules, such as hormone adrenaline, are lower at night It suggests these […]
New drug brings unexpected hope in targeting cancer cells
An unexpected finding in pre-clinical platelet studies by Baker Institute researchers could provide a novel approach to targeting and destroying difficult-to-treat cancer cells, providing new therapeutic options for a range of cancers. This latest finding, published in the journal Theranostics, was discovered while studying activated platelets in the setting of heart disease and may now […]
Nicotine works inside cells to reinforce addiction: study
When a person takes a puff on a cigarette, nicotine floods into the brain, latching onto receptors on the surface of neurons and producing feelings of happiness. But nicotine does not simply stay on the surface of cells—the drug actually permeates into neural cells and alters them from the inside out. Now, a team of […]