BOLD Innovation that Matters! - July 2023 Translational Research

We are pleased to highlight 15 translational research studies that were published in top-tier journals in July 2023, showcasing BOLD solutions for patients globally.

1. Researchers from?Stanford University School of Medicine?have identified the alveolar epithelial type I (AT1) cell as a cell of origin for lung adenocarcinoma and demonstrated that expression of oncogenic KRAS in differentiated AT1 cells reprograms them back into AT2 stem cells that generate indolent lepidic tumors. ???Read more here
2. Stanford University School of Medicine?scientists have conducted a study revealing that the p53 gene suppresses lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) development by promoting AT1 differentiation in a transitional cell state similar to alveolar repair, offering insights into the mechanisms of p53-mediated LUAD suppression and its role in tissue repair after injury. ??Read more here
3. Using whole-genome sequencing analyses, scientists from?Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology?(KAIST)?and?Boston Children's Hospital,?have identified in individuals with ataxia-telangiectasia genetic variants that might be amenable to treatment with splice-switching antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and developed ASOs with therapeutic potential. ??Read more here
4. Researchers, mainly from?Harvard Medical School,?have discovered that co-transplanting regulatory T cells with human-iPS-cell-derived midbrain dopamine cells improves cell survival and therapeutic outcomes in rodent models of Parkinson's disease, by reducing the inflammatory response caused by surgical injury, providing a potential strategy to enhance cell therapy effectiveness. ??Read more here
5. Researchers from?EPFL (école polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne)?have found the cGAS–STING signalling pathway, responsible for immune sensing of DNA, to be a critical driver of chronic inflammation and functional decline during aging and could potentially be targeted to halt neurodegenerative processes during old age. ???Read more here
6. A study by researchers from the?Massachusetts General Hospital?have shown that induction of the cytidine deaminase APOBEC3A in response to targeted therapies drives evolution of drug-tolerant persister cells, suggesting that its suppression may represent a potential therapeutic strategy in the prevention of acquired resistance to lung cancer targeted therapy. ???Read more here
7. Scientists from?St. Jude Children's Research Hospital?have uncovered that the competition for glutamine between type-1 conventional dendritic cells and tumor cells plays a central role in tuning the antitumor immune response and in immune evasion by cancer cells. The study provides a potential strategy for improving cancer treatments and overcoming tumor-mediated immunosuppression. ???Read more here
8. Researchers from?Stanford University?have discovered a new class of molecules called transcriptional/epigenetic chemical inducers of proximity (TCIPs), which can recruit downstream transcription factors or endogenous cancer drivers to cell death promoters and activate the expression of these genes, potentially leading to targeted therapies for cancers such as diffuse large B cell lymphoma and broader applications in gene regulation. ???Read more here
9. Using phylogenetic analyses of microdissected samples from both cancer and non-cancer lesions, scientists from?Kyoto University?have shown evolutionary histories of breast cancers harboring a common driver alteration, highlighting the unique role of der(1;16) in the major subset of Luminal A breast cancer and providing new insight into how breast cancer evolves. ???Read more here
10. A group of researchers from?Massachusetts Institute of Technology?and?Boston University?have created a small device, about the size of a capsule, that combines genetically modified probiotic biosensors, a custom photodetector, and electronic circuits to detect transient molecules like nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide. This technology, ingested and capable of wireless communication, offers potential for early diagnosis of diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and improved patient-caregiver communication. ???Read more here
11. A preclinical study led by the?University Hospital Basel?and?University of Basel?has revealed that Siglec-E deletion or blockade promotes phagocytosis by microglia and monocyte-derived cells and drives antitumor immunity in glioblastoma, offering a potential new treatment approach to the disease. ???Read more here
12. Researchers from?University of Minnesota?and?Gamida Cell Ltd.?have shown in a first-in-human phase I trial that natural killer cells expanded with nicotinamide are effective for immunotherapy to treat relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leading to promising remission rates in patients. ???Read more here
13. Results from a proof-of-concept clinical trial led by scientists from?Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health?have shown that a subset of children with favorable HIV-1 reservoir characteristics maintained viral suppression during broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAb)-only treatment, suggesting the potential of bNAbs for controlling HIV-1 in some pediatric patients. ???Read more here
14. Scientists from the?Universitat de Barcelona?have shown that E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF41 is down-regulated in macrophages during liver fibrogenesis in humans and mice. Increasing RNF41 expression in macrophages using a gene therapy promotes the resolution of liver fibrosis and regeneration in mouse models of chronic liver disease, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic strategy. ???Read more here
15. Scientists from?University of Pennsylvania?have discovered that a protein named TRIM11 is down-regulated in Alzheimer’s disease and restoring its expression may lead to effective therapies. ???Read more here