Investigators utilized an isogenic human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-based system to demonstrate that conversion of APOE3 to APOE2 greatly reduced the production of amyloid-beta peptides in hiPSC-derived neural cultures.
Brookhouser, N., Raman, S., Frisch, C., Srinivasan, G., & Brafman, D. A. (2021). APOE2 mitigates disease-related phenotypes in an isogenic hiPSC-based model of Alzheimer’s disease. Molecular Psychiatry, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01076-3Cite
The authors discuss the regulation of appetite and metabolism by hypothalamic neurohormone-expressing cells, with a focus on the distinct contributions of neurohormones and neurotransmitters released by these neurons.
Scientists provide a brief overview of the role of astrocytes in regulating synaptic transmission and neuronal function, and discuss how cocaine influences these astrocyte-mediated mechanisms to induce persistent synaptic and circuit alterations that promote cocaine seeking and relapse.
Wang, J., Holt, L. M., Huang, H. H., Sesack, S. R., Nestler, E. J., & Dong, Y. (2021). Astrocytes in cocaine addiction and beyond. Molecular Psychiatry, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01080-7Cite
The authors highlight the pathways by which intestinal epithelial cells sense microbiota-derived signals and the necessity of these detection pathways in maintaining epithelial barrier integrity.
Investigators used gene expression profiling to identify 707 unique genes that were significantly differentially expressed in mouse brain endothelial cells after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Tso, M. K., Turgeon, P., Bosche, B., Lee, C. K., Nie, T., D’Abbondanza, J., Ai, J., Marsden, P. A., & Macdonald, R. L. (2021). Gene expression profiling of brain endothelial cells after experimental subarachnoid haemorrhage. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 7818. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87301-zCite
Zhang, H., Wang, P., Li, Z., He, Y., Gan, W., & Jiang, H. (2021). Anti-CLL1 chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy in children with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Clinical Cancer Research. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-4543Cite
Untargeted nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics was applied in 84 umbilical cord blood and maternal blood samples obtained from 48 intrauterine growth restriction and 36 appropriate for gestational age deliveries.
Researchers concluded that, after pre-term birth onset, a shift from immunoregulation towards inflammation takes place in cord blood cells that were reportedly representative of the fetal compartment.
Busse, M., Redlich, A., Hartig, R., Costa, S.-D., Rathert, H., Fest, S., & Zenclussen, A. C. (2021). Imbalance between inflammatory and regulatory cord blood B cells following pre-term birth. Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 103319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jri.2021.103319Cite
Mutationally activated KRAS in tumor cells reprograms macrophages to a tumor-associated macrophage-like phenotype via a combination effect of tumor-derived CSF2 and lactate.
AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. announced that it has initiated its Phase II RESERVOIR clinical trial of a proprietary oral formulation of micronized niclosamide for the treatment of COVID-19 related gastrointestinal infections.
Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited AstraZeneca announced that the first patient was dosed in DESTINY-CRC02, a global Phase II trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of ENHERTU® in patients with HER2 overexpressing locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer with progression following treatment with standard of care chemotherapy.
