X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is not unique to female cells and may confer some survival advantage to male cancer cells, according to scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard. The noncoding RNA XIST (acronym for X-inactive specific transcript), which in female mammals (of genotype XX) inactivates one of the X chromosomes, preventing the overexpression of the genes of the repeated chromosome from early stages of embryonic development, also acts somatically in some male cancers, compensating for the loss of the entire chromosome.
“We found that a small percentage of male cancers are expressing XIST, which normally is expressed in female cancers. And the percentage of male cancers that express XIST is variable depending on the cancer type,” Srinivas Viswanathan, researcher in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard and assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, told BioWorld. Read More
Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment reduced levels of estrogen and important heart-protective proteins, researchers reported in the Nov. 2, 2022, online edition of Science Translational Medicine. Hormone therapies could target this endocrine-cardiac-immune pathway and mitigate myocarditis risk without affecting treatment responses. Read More
Researchers from Assembly Biosciences Inc. presented the discovery and preclinical characterization of novel small-molecule hepatitis B (HBV) and D virus (HDV) entry inhibitors. Read More
TOTUM-448 is a unique combination of plant extracts designed to reduce hepatic steatosis, a risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes. Read More
Biallelic mutations in the PYGM gene, which encodes for glycogen phosphorylase, cause McArdle disease, with a few cases documented to have hereditary macular dystrophies (HMDs) as an association. In the current study, a research team at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), in Toronto, aimed to identify the disease-causing variants in an autosomal recessive family with HMD. Read More
Medshine Discovery Inc. and Jiangsu Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. have disclosed bicyclic substituted aromatic carboxylic acid compounds acting as complement factor B (CFB) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Read More
Novartis AG has synthesized heteroaryl aminopropanol derivatives acting as leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H; LTA4) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), psoriasis, sepsis, periodontal and autoimmune disease, cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders, among others. Read More
Pegylated interferon-α (PegIFNα) is a treatment option for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, but it often has undesirable side effects and not all patients respond to treatment. Tripartite motif-containing protein 26 (TRIM26) has been reported to have an impact on hepatitis C virus replication; researchers aimed to investigate the role of TRIM26 in CHB as well as its potential impact on response to PegIFNα in two cohorts of patients with CHB (N=945) treated for 48 weeks with a follow-up period of 24 weeks. Read More
Medshine Discovery Inc. has identified imidazopyridine compounds acting as Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Read More
Gilead Sciences Inc. has divulged thienopyrrole compounds acting as Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and/or TLR8 antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cutaneous lupus erythematosus, lupus nephritis and inflammatory disorders, among others. Read More
Asieris Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has received FDA clearance of its IND for APL-1401 for the treatment of moderate to severely active ulcerative colitis. Read More
