Feature combination of Siglec-16 and polysialic acid increases survival in patients with glioblastoma. Glioblastomas are malignant brain tumours with a poor prognosis because they usually do not respond to common cancer therapies. One reason for this is that the tumour cells have developed mechanisms to evade immune defence. Even more: certain cells of the innate immune system, so-called tumour-associated macrophages (TAM), are influenced in such a way that they not only do not attack the tumour cells, but even stimulate…
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in particular, lower the prognosis of ischemic strokes by causing inflammation in the brain. Air pollution has been shown to have a negative effect on the prognosis of ischemic stroke, or stroke caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, but the exact mechanism is unknown. A team of researchers recently conducted a study to determine whether or not increased inflammation of the brain, also known as neuroinflammation, is the main culprit. The team published their findings…
An international research team, comprising scientists from DZNE, University Hospital Bonn, the Netherlands, and the US has been awarded a US$ 1.3 million grant by the “Human Frontier Science Program” to investigate brain immune cells and manipulate them via light irradiation. This will involve using gene transcripts (mRNAs) as molecular mediators. From these laboratory studies, the scientists aim to gain new insights into how these cells change their shape in response to hazards and the role they play in neurodegenerative…
In multiple sclerosis (MS), the immune system mistakenly attacks the brain and spinal cord, causing the complete loss of myelin. “Synthesized by specialized cells, oligodendrocytes, myelin protects nerve fibers, guarantees the good conduction of nerve impulses, and provides nutrients to the axons, Bernard Zalc recalls. This protective sheath envelops nerve fibers and is essential for their proper functioning. Its disappearance, called demyelination, causes sensory and motor symptoms: weakness of the lower or upper limbs, loss of balance, sensitivity, and vision…
Researchers have developed a drug that undercuts antibiotic resistance. A new type of drug could provide a way to treat multidrug-resistant bacteria, according to a study published in Nature Communications. Instead of targeting the bacteria directly, the drug blocks key toxins involved in the infection process. This both reduces inflammation and makes the bacteria more vulnerable to antibiotics. Antibiotics have been invaluable in the fight against bacterial infections, but bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to them. In the…
It’s a well-documented medical mystery: Patients with gum disease are less likely to respond to rheumatoid arthritis treatments. But new research may help explain this link between gum disease and an otherwise disparate condition. The findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggests that breaches in damaged gums allow bacteria in the mouth to seep into the bloodstream, activating an immune response that ultimately pivots to target the body’s own proteins and causes arthritis flare-ups. “If oral bacteria are getting in and repeatedly…
New study opens treatment possibilities for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. Researchers at UC Davis are the first to report how a specific type of brain cells, known as oligodendrocyte-lineage cells, transfer cell material to neurons in the mouse brain. Their work provides evidence of a coordinated nuclear interaction between these cells and neurons. The study was published today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. “This novel concept of material transfer to neurons opens new possibilities for understanding brain maturation…
Actinic keratosis is considered the most common precursor of skin cancer and is triggered by excessive UV radiation. Without treatment, it can often develop into malignant forms of skin cancer. Under the leadership of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP), the international doctoral candidates network PlasmACT is investigating the use of medical gas plasma technology as a treatment method. The project is funded by the European Union. Eight young international researchers will work on a plasma-based treatment…
It’s extremely difficult to study the biological basis of psychiatric disorders, in part because researchers can’t easily collect brain cells from living people to study in the laboratory. Now, University of Utah Health scientists have developed a way around that. The researchers grew three-dimensional structures, called “organoids”, derived from blood cells donated by a patient with pediatric bipolar disorder and by several family members. The approach identified significant molecular changes linked to the psychiatric condition. The results, reported in Molecular…
Bonn researchers uncover contribution of protein degradation processes to cisplatin resistance in germ cell tumors: Cisplatin is used successfully in the chemotherapy of testicular cancer. However, patients who develop resistance to the cytostatic drug urgently need alternative therapy options. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have now been able to elucidate a mechanism underlying cisplatin resistance in testicular cancer. Using CRISPR gene scissors, they identified the NAE1 gene as its driver. Inhibiting this resistance mediator by adding the NAE1…
We still do not understand exactly how antibiotics kill bacteria. However, this understanding is necessary if we want to develop new antibiotics. And that is precisely what is urgently needed, because bacteria are currently showing more and more resistance to existing antibiotics. Researchers from Bonn now clarified the inhibitory effect mechanism of antibiotics on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn used high-performance microscopes to observe the effect of different…
Link between chronic liver disease and high susceptibility to viral infections elucidated by Bonn researchers. The results of the study now published in the Journal of Hepatology. Patients suffering from chronic liver disease don’t respond to vaccination and are at high risk of viral infections. In these patients, virus-specific T-cells are defect and unable to eliminate viral pathogens. A research team led by ImmunoSensation2 member Prof. Zeinab Abdullah at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), in collaboration with colleagues from the…
Researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Singapore have discovered a new intracellular “smoke detector.” The sensor warns of damage to the mitochondria – the microscopic power plants that supply the cell with energy. If it does not function properly, chronic skin diseases can result. The sensor may also be important for unimpaired heart and bowel function. The results have now been published in the journal Nature Immunology. Every cell in the body has numerous sensors that monitor its function….
In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the small vessels in the lungs become increasingly narrow and obstruct the transport of blood to the lungs. A new drug can stop this change and possibly even reverse it. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a special form of pulmonary hypertension. It occurs because the small arteries in the lungs narrow as a result of progressive changes in the blood vessels. As a result, the right side of the heart has to pump harder to…
How can people be prevented from being affected again after a stroke? In order to find new therapeutic approaches for prevention, the international CRESCENDO consortium led by the MHH is conducting research at the molecular level. In Germany, 270,000 people suffer a stroke every year. This can result in severe disabilities: Paralysis, speech disorders and problems walking. Often, it does not remain a one-time event. Many patients experience a recurrence of the stroke and further deterioration of their health. How…
PET, the plastic used to make bottles, for example, is ubiquitous in our natural environment. In a joint study, scientists from Leipzig University and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) investigated the negative effects that tiny plastic PET particles can have on the metabolism and development of an organism. Their findings have now been published in the journal “Scientific Reports”. The increasing use of plastic is threatening ecosystems around the world. One of the big concerns is the presence…
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