Renal fibrosis represents a key driver of the pathology of chronic kidney disease (CKD), marked by fibroblast activation, tubular damage and inflammation. Previous work found that cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels are markedly reduced in experimental models of renal fibrosis, but the reasons for this decline are not fully understood.
Researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University have identified WW domain-containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 2 (WWP2) as a key player in the progression from acute kidney injury (AKI) chronic kidney disease (CKD).
While current treatments can prolong the life of many patients with the malignant bone cancer osteosarcoma, a substantial proportion have metastasis or recurrence. This highlights the need for more specific, targeted therapies against the disorder, yet the mechanism of pathogenesis is unclear and may be heterogeneous, so no drug targets have been definitively validated.
A recently published study, conducted by researchers from Jinan University and collaborating institutions, aimed to investigate the mechanisms of endometriosis-driven carcinogenesis.
Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) is a condition characterized by increased pulmonary artery pressure caused by prolonged exposure to a hypoxic environment. It frequently occurs among individuals residing at high altitudes and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Neuroblastoma is a pediatric extracranial solid tumor arising from the sympathetic nervous system. Disialoganglioside GD2-based therapies, including CAR T cells and other immunotherapies, have shown some success. However, GD2 is also expressed on pain fibers and other neurons, raising safety concerns, and relapses after anti-GD2 therapy are frequent.
In a recent study published in Cell Reports Medicine, researchers from the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Xi’an Jiao Tong University Health Science Center found that Mesothelin (MSLN) was significantly elevated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats and mice, where it drove osteoclast differentiation.
A team from the University of Missouri and collaborating institutions aimed to investigate the role of ABTB2 expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells. To do that, they applied a comprehensive suite of functional genomics tools, including siRNA/shRNA knockdown, CRISPR-Cas9 knockout, plasmid-based overexpression and a Cre-LoxP transgenic mouse model to modulate ABTB2 expression.
The Schlafen (SLFN) family of interferon-inducible genes, involved in the regulation of immune and antiviral responses, has recently attracted attention for the development of novel anticancer therapies.
Enara Bio Ltd. is staking a claim to having validated the first in a new class of tumor antigens derived from unannotated regions of the dark genome, describing its findings in talks and posters being presented at the Society of Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC) meeting in National Harbor, Md., Nov. 5-9, 2025.
