Recent evidence has pointed toward Werner syndrome helicase (WRN) as an attractive target for the management of microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumors, including colorectal, gastric and endometrial cancer mainly.
A modified version of CRISPR-Cas9 has enabled, for the first time, the efficient integration of a large transgene capable of inactivating entire chromosomes into one of the three copies of chromosome 21 in Down syndrome-derived cells. The goal is to silence the extra copy to limit the gene-dosage imbalance that drives many features of trisomy 21. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center turned to XIST, the long noncoding RNA responsible for the natural silencing of the X chromosome in females. Using this strategy, they achieved integration efficiencies of 20% to 40% and a partial reduction in the overexpression of chromosome 21 genes.
Ascletis Pharma (China) Co. Ltd. has patented new 2-phenyl-1,2,4-triazine-3,5(2h,4h)-dione derivatives acting as thyroid hormone receptor β (THR-β) agonists potentially useful for the treatment of diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, fibrosis, hepatic steatosis, thyroid cancer and hypercholesterolemia, among others.
Resother Pharma ApS has divulged new N-formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2; FPRL1; LXA4) agonists potentially useful for the treatment of chronic inflammation.
K2 Medicines (Nanjing) Co. Ltd. has identified new proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) compounds comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase-binding moiety coupled to a cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4)- and/or CDK4/6 dual-targeting moiety. They are designed for use in the treatment of cancer, neurodegeneration, viral infection, cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders.
A Beone Medicines I GmbH and Beone Pharmaceutical (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. patent details new proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) compounds comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase-binding moiety coupled to an interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK-1)- and IRAK-4-targeting moiety. They are described as useful for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases.
Recent evidence has suggested that secreted L-amino-acid oxidase, also known as interleukin-4-induced protein 1 (IL4I1), is involved in aromatic amino acid metabolism, as a key immunosuppressive enzyme expressed by tumor-associated myeloid cells, thus suppressing T-cell activation and proliferation within the tumor microenvironment.