After finding a mutation in METTL2A in a family with diabetes exhibiting a special phenotype, investigators at Zhejiang University School of Medicine studied its role in glucose and lipid metabolism in METTL2 (murine orthologue) knockout mice and wild-type mice fed a normal chow or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 20 weeks.

Glycoprotein VI (GPVI) is a platelet collagen receptor involved in platelet activation and an emerging target for treating thrombotic disorders such as ischemic stroke. Data have been presented by University of Würzburg scientists regarding a humanized anti-GPVI Fab antibody, EMA-601, with unprecedented potency in vitro and in vivo.

Hypochondroplasia (HCH) is a skeletal dysplasia similar to achondroplasia (ACH) but with milder features, that affects particularly the ossification of proximal long bones of arms and legs. Around 70% to 80% of cases of HCH are caused by N540K alterations in the FGFR3 gene. At the recent 6th Annual Achondroplasia & Skeletal Dysplasia Research Conference, researchers from Tyra Biosciences Inc. presented preclinical proof-of-concept data of TYRA-300, an oral FGFR3-selective inhibitor in a model of HCH.

MTX-101 (Mozart Therapeutics Inc.) is a bispecific CD8 Treg modulator that targets CD8 and the KIR2DL family, including KIR2DL1, KIR2DL2 and KIR2DL3, and is being developed for the treatment of CD4-driven autoimmunity and restoring immune balance.

“Do dreams predict the future?” Abidemi Otaiku asked his audience at the 10th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, currently being held in Helsinki. Most audience members, being hard-boiled scientists, did not believe they did. But Otaiku, whose work won the award for best clinical abstract at the conference, presented data indicating that in some cases, they can.