A new study on the interleukin 1 (IL-1) pathway and its involvement in systemic inflammation and autoinflammatory diseases has described a mutation of the IL-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1) receptor associated with chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO). The variant p.Lys131Glu of this receptor was identified in a patient with CRMO. A peripheral blood mononuclear cell analysis showed an inflammatory event in lymphocytes, especially in monocytes and neutrophils. The research was conducted by a group of scientists at Zhejiang University in China and reported in the July 11, 2023, issue of Immunity.
After CAR T-cell immunotherapy for leukemia, some children have a longer remission because the engineered cells remain active and control or prevent the growth of new tumor cells. A new collaborative study has found that these persistent cells expressed certain genes that could be identified through a transcriptional signature. The finding could explain why the treatment does not work in some patients, and potentially help to improve it, reducing relapses.
In brain research, be it basic or clinical, neurons have long hogged the limelight. But at the 2023 European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease, neurons take a back seat to glia – cell types that have often been described as support cells and treated as an afterthought, but that play critical roles in all aspects of brain function, including information processing.
Researchers from Ermium Therapeutics SAS have presented preclinical data for the novel chemokine CXCR4 receptor ligand ER-000145, being developed for the treatment of type 1 interferonopathies, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Interleukin-17 (IL-17), a cytokine produced by T helper 17 (Th17) cells, is a key player in host inflammation and immune dysfunction leading to autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or asthma, among others.
Recent genome-wide association studies have elucidated a spliced variant (rs72613567:TA) in 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17B13) found to be associated with decreased risk of chronic liver disorders. The presence of this variant also correlates with delayed onset of autoimmune hepatitis in carriers.
Exevir Bio BV has been awarded a 2-year R&D grant of €1.6 million by Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) for preclinical research towards prophylactic and therapeutic solutions for dengue.
Blue Water Biotech Inc. has released preliminary preclinical data supporting the use of its norovirus shell and protrusion (S&P) virus-like particle (VLP) platform to develop a novel mpox vaccine candidate.
A single low-dose injection with anti-DLL4 in a nonhuman primate model of acute graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD) dramatically improved post-transplant survival, providing durable protection from otherwise lethal gastrointestinal GVHD, researchers reported in the June 28, 2023, issue of Science Translational Medicine. Blocking DLL4 specifically increased the migration of beneficial regulatory T cells into the intestines, with concomitant reduction in effector T cells, which are the main culprits in aGVHD. Ultimately, these activities effectively provided protection against T-cell-mediated damage in a nonhuman macaque primate model.