Several studies have indicated that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath can be altered by lung cancer and serve as identifiable biomarkers. A limitation of using these VOCs as clinical biomarkers has been the fact that hundreds of such molecules are present in exhaled breath and it is experimentally challenging to monitor the molecular concentration changes of all the VOCs and further use them in lung cancer detection.
In a study published on Nov. 30, 2022, in PLOS One, researchers at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, analyzed the metabolic carbonyl compounds present in exhaled breath of the patients and developed a machine learning approach involving relevant VOC selection and use in cancer patient classification model training.
Microenvironmental factors originating from RAS-mutated cancer stem cells stimulated an angiogenic feedback loop with the surrounding environment causing the expression of leptin and TGF-β receptors on the cancer stem cells. Most significantly, leptin and TGF-β signaling were required for malignant transformation.
The findings, which were published in the Nov. 30, 2022 issue of Nature, raise “the intriguing possibility that many cancer mutations may function to lock into place, rather than set the course of, a path that is predetermined by aberrant crosstalk between a cancer stem cell and its microenvironment,” said senior author Elaine Fuchs, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Rockefeller University.
Researchers have identified a link between amyloid plaques and dysfunctional neuronal conduction in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Their study, which was published in the Dec. 1, 2022, issue of Nature, suggests new ways to think about AD, as well as badly needed potential alternatives to plaque removal to fight the disease.
Quantbiores A/S has discovered peptides acting as spike glycoprotein (S) (SARS-CoV-2)/ACE2 interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (COVID-19).
Vigil Neuroscience Inc. has synthesized triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, prion infections, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Nasu-Hakola diseases.
Mast cells (MCs) are tissue-resident immune cells and are responsible for allergic and inflammatory processes. One potential approach for targeting MCs is to engage inhibitory receptors that can silence MC activation, such as sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (siglecs). Siglec-6 is an inhibitory receptor expressed on human MCs and represents an attractive therapeutic target for this purpose. Siglec-6 engagement with a monoclonal antibody (MAb) was recently shown to inhibit MC activation in vitro.
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