It is approved as a food additive. But it now appears that sucralose can dampen T-cell-mediated immune responses, suggesting it could be a means of treating T-cell-dependent autoimmune disorders. While stressing (repeatedly) that they were studying intakes well above normal, at high but achievable doses sucralose has an unexpected effect on T-cell responses and functions in autoimmune, infection and tumor models, researchers at The Francis Crick Institute, London, reported in Nature March 15, 2023. Read More
The traps that neutrophils develop against microorganisms also hold T cells and prevent the success of immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. To free the immune system from itself, scientists at the Istituto Oncologico Veneto in Italy made a key that unlocked this sticky dungeon from an antibody against arginase-1 (ARG1), an enzyme also present in the trap. Read More
Nucleoside or nucleotide antivirals are a common first-line treatment for viral diseases, acting as direct inhibitors of viral replication and transcription. The nucleoside GS-441524 and its prodrug remdesivir have shown broad-spectrum antiviral activity against several virus families, including Flaviviridae, Filoviridae, Pneumoviridae, paramyxoviruses and Coronaviridae. Read More
Research at Medshine Discovery Inc. has led to the development of imidazocyclic compounds acting as glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists potentially useful for the treatment of diabetes. Read More
A Katholieke Universiteit Leuven patent details 6-substituted- and 6,7-disubstituted-7-deazapurine ribonucleoside analogues that act as viral replication inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of viral infections. Read More
Osteoarthritis and its associated cartilage pathology affects 30 million people in the U.S., but no disease-modifying treatments have yet reached the clinic. A recent multicenter trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a truncated, recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-18 (FGF18) protein analogue (rhFGF18) demonstrated a dose-dependent improvement in cartilage thickness relative to a placebo. Read More
The expression of zinc finger transcription factor Trps1 (TRPS1) has been recently found to be specific for tumors of the breast. In normal skin, the expression of TRPS1 is found in outer root sheath, sebocytes and matrical cells of the hair follicle, as well as the inner luminal cells of eccrine glands. Cutaneous tumors with origin in these cell types were hypothesized to express TRPS1. Because little knowledge exists about the expression of TRPS1 in nonmelanocytic tumors of the skin; researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center performed immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of TRPS1 in different types of cutaneous tumors. Read More
Researchers at Hangzhou Glubio Therapeutics Co. Ltd. have patented isoindolinone molecular glue degraders that induce DNA-binding protein Ikaros (IKZF1) degradation and are reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer. Read More
Previous studies have implicated OBSCN in breast tumorigenesis and have also demonstrated that low OBSCN levels correlate with significantly reduced overall and relapse-free survival in breast cancer patients. In a recent study, researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center aimed to investigate the mechanisms involved in the regulation of OBSCN. Read More
Arpeggio Biosciences Inc. has patented phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase, mitochondrial (PHGPx; GPX4) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer. Read More