Calcineurin inhibitors used in clinics – including immunosuppressants for transplant rejection and autoimmune disease treatment – may cause persistent hypertension. Calcineurin inhibitors elevate sympathetic vasomotor activity by decreasing calcineurin activity and potentiating N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activity in the hypothalamus. However, how these inhibitors promote NMDAR activity in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus to increase sympathetic vasomotor activity remains unknown.
Researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center presented data from a study that assessed the tumor microenvironment (TME) of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic targets for ACC.
Investigators from Beatson Institute for Cancer Research have published findings from a study that applied untargeted metabolic profiling to identify novel therapeutic targets for colorectal cancer (CRC). Genetically engineered mouse models and multimodal mass spectrometry-based metabolomics were used to analyze metabolic effects of common genetic mutations in CRC.
Researchers from Nanjing Medical University have published data from a study that aimed to assess the potential of targeting fascin homologue 1 (FSCN1) as novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of ocular neovascularization.
Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University presented data from a study that aimed to identify and validate potential new therapeutic targets for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Systems immunology analysis utilizing mass cytometry (CyTOF) was used to assess α5 integrin expression in 78,293 single cells, including 21,250 CD45+/CD11b+ myeloid cells from CNS of superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD) G93A mouse model of ALS (SOD1G93A).
Precision medicine startup Solu Therapeutics has raised $31 million in an oversubscribed seed round to advance a therapeutic candidate based on technology that identifies cell surface, tumor-associated targets that antibodies alone fail to latch onto. The company was founded by venture capital firm Longwood Fund and has high hopes for its cytotoxicity targeting chimera platform. “[It] has the potential to unlock new tumor-associated antigens and develop molecules that deplete pathogenic immune cells and extend the half-life of small-molecule antagonists and agonists,” CEO and co-founder of Solu, David Donabedian, told BioWorld.
Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) represents 35% to 40% of all lung cancers, making it the most common non-small-cell lung cancer in the U.S. Despite continual treatment advances, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Accordingly, there is an ongoing urgent need to identify targets and associated therapeutics.
Giardia lamblia is a protozoan pathogen that colonizes the gastrointestinal tract and results in giardiasis. Recently, researchers from the University of California San Diego aimed to identify potent proteasome inhibitors that selectively target G. lamblia, as potential antigiardiasis therapeutics with low toxicity.
Protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 22 (PTPN22) has been previously linked to several chronic inflammatory disorders and it has been established that PTPN22 regulates T-cell receptor signaling. Recent studies have also shown that PTPN22 plays a role in thrombosis, suggesting its potential use as target for cardiovascular diseases. In the current study, researchers from Southern Medical University and affiliated organizations aimed to assess the role of PTPN22 in the pathogenesis of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD).
Researchers from the University of Texas and University of Tennessee set out to determine if the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) MALAT1 (metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1), which is known to regulate a subset of genes involved in synaptic plasticity, cognitive function and memory, plays an important role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology.
