SCIENCE NEWS
Research into Synthetic Antibodies Offers Hope for New Diagnostics
Scientists have been exploring mechanisms of antibody activity, particularly the ability of these sentries to bind-with high affinity and specificity-to their protein targets. Borrowing a script from nature, the group has been working to construct synthetic antibodies or synbodies, through a simple method developed in Johnston’s Center for Innovations in Medicine. [The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University Press Release]
Scientists Reveal Complete Structure of HIV’s Outer Shell
A team of scientists has determined the structure of the protein package that delivers the genetic material of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to human cells. [Press release from The Scripps Research Institute discussing online prepublication in Nature]
Biologists’ Favorite Worm Gets Viruses
Researchers have found that the nematode C. elegans gets naturally occurring viral infections. The discovery means C. elegans is likely to help scientists study the way viruses and their hosts interact. [Press release from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discussing online prepublication in PLoS Biology]
Fighting the Fight for Healthy Teeth
It is known that teeth can protect themselves, to some extent, from attack by bacteria but that inflammation within a tooth can be damaging and, in extreme cases, lead to abscess or death of the tooth. New research shows that odontoblast cells are part of the immune system and fight to protect teeth from decay. [Press release from EurekAlert! discussing online prepublication in BMC Immunology]
Feinstein Scientists Identify Better Way to Treat Those Who Lose Hearing Due to Autoimmune Disease
Scientists have figured out why some patients with hearing loss triggered by an autoimmune response do not respond to the traditional therapy. Using this marker, scientists may be able to identify those patients who would best respond to treatment. [Press release from the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Immunology]
Prototype Drug Targets Metabolism, Halts Disease That Limits Bone Marrow Transplantation
A prototype drug already shown to hold promise for treating autoimmune disorders like lupus, arthritis and psoriasis halts established graft-versus-host disease in mouse models of bone marrow transplantation, research shows. [Press release from the University of Michigan discussing online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine]
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CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)
Atomic-Level Modelling of the HIV Capsid
Researchers previously used a disulphide crosslinking strategy to enable isolation and crystallization of soluble human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) CA hexamers. Here researchers use the same approach to solve the X-ray structure of the HIV-1 CA pentamer at 2.5 Angstrom resolution. [Nature]
Human B1 cells in Umbilical Cord and Adult Peripheral Blood Express the Novel Phenotype CD20+CD27+CD43+CD70-
Here, researchers determined the phenotype of human B1 cells by testing sort-purified B cell fractions for three fundamental B1 cell functions based on mouse studies: spontaneous IgM secretion, efficient T cell stimulation, and tonic intracellular signaling. [J Exp Med]
Natural and Experimental Infection of Caenorhabditis Nematodes by Novel Viruses Related to Nodaviruses
From wild isolates of C. elegans and C. briggsae with unusual morphological phenotypes in intestinal cells, researchers identified two novel RNA viruses distantly related to known nodaviruses, one infecting specifically C. elegans (Orsay virus), the other C. briggsae (Santeuil virus). [PLoS Biol]
Regulatory T Cells Facilitate the Nuclear Accumulation of Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER) and Suppress Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cell c1 (NFATc1)
Using two mouse models, researchers demonstrate that naturally occurring regulatory T cells control the cellular localization of ICER/CREM, and thereby inhibit IL-2 synthesis in conventional CD4+ T cells. [Proc Natl Acad Sci]
Transient Depletion of Regulatory T Cells in Transgenic Mice Reactivates Virus-Specific CD8+ T Cells and Reduces Chronic Retroviral Set Points
Using transgenic mice in which regulatory T cells (Tregs) can be selectively ablated, researchers now show that transient depletion of Tregs during a chronic retroviral infection allows exhausted CD8+ T cells to regain antiviral functions, including secretion of cytokines, production of cytotoxic molecules, and virus-specific cytolytic activity. [Proc Natl Acad Sci]
Novel Role for STAT3 in Transcriptional Regulation of NK Immune Cell Targeting Receptor MICA on Cancer Cells
In this study, researchers investigated the role of STAT3 in suppressing natural killer (NK) cell-mediated immunosurveillance. [Cancer Res]
IL-1(beta) Is Overexpressed and Aberrantly Regulated in Corticosteroid Nonresponders with Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease
In this study, researchers asked whether IL-1(beta) was overexpressed, and whether clinical corticosteroid responders differentially regulated IL-1(beta) expression or release in response to dexamethasone, as compared with nonresponders. [J Immunol]
Host APCs Augment In Vivo Expansion of Donor Natural Regulatory T Cells via B7H1/B7.1 in Allogeneic Recipients
Studies have revealed a new immune regulation loop consisting of T cell-derived IFN-gamma, B7H1 expression by APCs, and B7.1 expression by regulatory T cells. [J Immunol]
Exploitation of Herpesvirus Immune Evasion Strategies to Modify the Immunogenicity of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplants
Researchers aim to overcome mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) immune rejection through permanent down-regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins on the surface of these MHC class II-negative cells through the use of viral immune evasion proteins. [PLoS ONE]
Caries Induced Cytokine Network in the Odontoblast Layer of Human Teeth
The present study aims to determine cytokine gene expression profiles generated within human teeth in response to dental caries in vivo and to build a mechanistic model of these responses and the downstream signaling network. [BMC Immunol]
Manipulating the Bioenergetics of Alloreactive T Cells Causes Their Selective Apoptosis and Arrests Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Researchers found that bone marrow (BM) cells proliferating after BM transplantation increased aerobic glycolysis but not OXPHOS, whereas T cells proliferating in response to alloantigens during graft-versus-host disease increased both aerobic glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. [Sci Transl Med]
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Professors Kishimoto and Hirano Awarded 2011 Japan Prize
The Japan Prize Foundation announced that former Osaka University President, Professor Emeritus Kishimoto Tadamitsu and Dean of Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Professor Hirano Toshio have been awarded the 2011 Japan Prize. Dr. Kishimoto and Dr. Hirano were honored for their discovery of interleukin-6, a discovery with far-ranging impacts in medical care and treatments. [Osaka University Press Release]
RainDance Technologies Raises $37.5 Million in Series D Financing
RainDance Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of microdroplet-based solutions for single molecule and single cell analysis, announced that it has closed a Series D financing round of $37.5 million. [RainDance Technologies, Inc. Press Release]
Amgen to Acquire BioVex, a Privately Held Biotechnology Company Headquartered in Woburn, Mass
Amgen and BioVex Group, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a definitive acquisition agreement under which Amgen has agreed to acquire BioVex Group, Inc., a privately held, venture-funded, biotechnology company headquartered in Woburn, Mass. [Amgen Press Release]
Emergent BioSolutions Announces Initiation of Phase Ib/II Study of TRU-016 in Combination with Bendamustine for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced the initiation of a Phase Ib/II study (16201) of TRU-016 for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. TRU-016 is a CD37-directed Small Modular ImmunoPharmaceutical protein therapeutic in development for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. [Emergent BioSolutions Inc. Press Release]
Oxford BioTherapeutics Out-Licenses Therapeutic Antibody for the Treatment of Solid Cancers
Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) announces that Sanofi-aventis has acquired an exclusive world-wide license to one of OBT’s internal preclinical antibody programs. [Oxford BioTherapeutics Press Release]
Immunomedics Reports First Experimental Studies Combining Antibody-Drug Conjugate With Antibody-Directed Radiation Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer
Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, announced that combining antibody-directed drug and radionuclide therapeutics for pancreatic cancer improved efficacy in preclinical studies with minimal toxicity. [Immunomedics, Inc. Press Release]
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