High levels of bilirubin exacerbated damage to neurons in the brain caused by a stroke by binding to the TRPM2 channel, which helped regulate cell death among other processes. The research, published March 14, 2023, in Neuron, showed that blocking the binding site for bilirubin in a mouse model led to improvements in neurotoxicity suggesting some potential for the development of new stroke therapeutics.

High levels of bilirubin exacerbated damage to neurons in the brain caused by a stroke by binding to the TRPM2 channel, which helped regulate cell death among other processes. The research, led by Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the University of Toronto and published March 14, 2023, in Neuron, showed that blocking the binding site for bilirubin in a mouse model led to improvements in neurotoxicity suggesting some potential for the development of new stroke therapeutics.

An international team of researchers has created two bat stem cell lines that reveal an unusual number of viral sequences in bat cells compared with those of other mammals. Writing in an article posted online Feb. 21, 2023, in Cell, the scientists suggested that the unusual amount of viral genetic material found in the bat stem cells could explain why these mammals are largely unaffected by most viral infections, despite being able to transmit them.

An international team of researchers has created two bat stem cell lines that reveal an unusual number of viral sequences in bat cells compared with those of other mammals. Writing in an article posted online Feb. 21, 2023, in Cell, the scientists suggested that the unusual amount of viral genetic material found in the bat stem cells could explain why these mammals are largely unaffected by most viral infections, despite being able to transmit them.

Research led by Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Notre Dame shows a new treatment for peanut allergy is effective in a mouse model. The therapy, a covalent heterobivalent inhibitor (cHBI), differs from most allergy treatments in that it is more of a preventative therapy rather than a drug to treat immediate acute symptoms.

Research led by Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Notre Dame shows a new treatment for peanut allergy is effective in a mouse model. The therapy, a covalent heterobivalent inhibitor, differs from most allergy treatments in that it is more of a preventative therapy rather than a drug to treat immediate acute symptoms. “Essentially, in the model, we can treat once and then the mice seem to be protected for several weeks from challenge with peanut,” lead researcher Mark Kaplan, a professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, told BioWorld.

Results from a French study of a cohort of individuals with the inherited rare disease Fanconi anemia shed light on how some people with this condition go on to develop secondary leukemia. Writing in the Feb. 2, 2023, issue of Cell Stem Cell, the authors also described some initial tests on cell lines in a mouse model of a drug that has potential to treat individuals with Fanconi anemia who progress to leukemia.

Research shows that individuals with schizophrenia have abnormal gene expression patterns in their brains compared with people without the condition. In a study published in PLOS Biology on Jan. 24, 2023, the authors reported that many genes in brain tissue from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region involved in cognition, have expression patterns that follow a 12-hour cycle. The investigators found that these patterns were largely lost in people with schizophrenia.

A study in a mouse model of tau protein build-up in the brain, similar to that seen in later stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD), shows that changes to the microbiome in these animals can impact the degree and progression of neurodegeneration observed. As reported in the Jan. 12, 2023, study published in Science, the researchers found that mice that were germ free and those given antibiotics to change their gut microbiome early in life had significant reductions in brain atrophy compared with those with a standard microbiome.