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Published on August 9, 2021
An experimental type of gene editing known as ‘prime editing’ can correct mutations that cause cystic fibrosis in human cell lines and organoids in the lab, shows research from the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands. While this research is very early stage, it shows that this kind of gene editing…
Published on July 2, 2021
New research by scientists at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and with collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrates that lowering levels of the hormone PTHrP can prevent metastases and improve survival in mice with pancreatic cancer. “Pancreatic cancer metastasis is…
Published on June 18, 2021
Studies in laboratory cell lines and in mouse tumor models show an antibiotic developed in the 1950s called novabiocin effectively targets and kills cancer cells with abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which normally help to repair damaged DNA. The research team, based at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, showed the drug…
Published on June 17, 2021
Early diagnosis of CNS tumors is complicated by the lack of early symptoms. Brain CT or MRI are definitive, but usually done only after the onset of noticeable symptoms when the cancer has spread or is otherwise inoperable due to a large tumor size. A study from Nagoya University found…
Published on May 5, 2021
Millimeter-wide 3-D models that mimic vital aspects of the human nervous system have been developed in a step that could accelerate drug research for neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The models will be used to study myelin. Researchers say the models are the most natural representation of human…
Published on April 12, 2021
Targeting the genetic dependency Werner helicase (WRN) could open up treatment for drug resistant colorectal cancer (CRC), according to new research. The study used a large collection of colorectal cancer organoids with impaired mismatch DNA repair (60 unique models in total) and confirmed that inhibiting WRN using CRISPR reduced cancer…
Published on April 5, 2021
Researchers have identified genomic variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease in what they say is the first study to use whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to discover such markers. They also report that the study establishes new genetic links between AD and the function of synapses and the ability of neurons to reorganize…
Published on March 10, 2021
Pancreatic tumors are among the most difficult to treat due to the barrier presented by demoplastic tissue. Yet this barrier can be penetrated by iRGD, a nine-amino-acid cyclic peptide. In experiments with models of pancreatic cancer, specifically, mouse models and organoids, iRGD was found to penetrate tumors via a molecular…
Published on January 13, 2021
A new study from investigators at the Yale School of Medicine describes the mechanisms that allow the SARS-C0V-2 virus to directly infect the central nervous system, further highlighting the multivariate forms COVID-19 can take. The new study was performed using both mouse and human brain tissue, and the results were…
Published on November 30, 2020
A pioneering method of uncovering gene function, called in vivo pertub-seq, has been used to study 35 de novo loss of function genes previously associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Jin et al. used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the genes and single-cell-sequencing (RNAseq) to study their function in developing mouse embryos.…
Published on November 3, 2020
Applying a machine learning technique using algorithms that learn transcriptome information from artificial organoids derived from actual patients instead of animal models, researchers from the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea say they have successfully increased the accuracy of anti-cancer drug response predictions. The team, led…
Published on October 30, 2020
Genetic associations between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and stress related to depression have been uncovered by a novel study that combined 3D genomic mapping with publicly available data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Carried out by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the study further implicated new genes involved…
Published on September 9, 2020
Research originally focused on a way to determine the viability of batches of tiny liver organoids led the investigators to devise a polygenic risk score (PRS) that shows when a drug—whether developmental or already approved—poses a risk of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). The researchers, comprised teams at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital…
Published on August 20, 2020
Using stem cell technology to generate the first human insulin-producing pancreatic cell clusters that can evade the immune system, researchers at the Salk Institute have generated immune shielded” human islet-like organoids (HILOs) from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that controlled blood glucose following transplantation into a mouse model of diabetes,…
Published on July 13, 2020
A Queen Mary University of London-led team of scientists harnessed induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and hairs donated by individuals with Down syndrome (DS), to develop a rapid in vitro cell-based screening system that recapitulates the primary features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression, which they suggest could be used…