Biology & Medicine News and Discussions

[firestar464]

A mathematical model connects the evolution of chickens, fish and frogs

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-mathemati ... frogs.html

[weatheriscool]

Nanoparticle flu vaccine design shows promise in early tests

by The Scripps Research Institute

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-nanoparti ... early.html
Existing flu vaccines provide only limited, seasonal protection because they target highly changeable proteins on the virus. Scripps Research scientists have now designed a vaccine that should work broadly against influenza A strains—one of the two types of flu virus that normally circulate in humans.

The new vaccine design, described in a paper titled "Single-Component Multilayered Self-Assembling Protein Nanoparticles Displaying Extracellular Domains of Matrix Protein 2 as a Pan-influenza A Vaccine" in ACS Nano on November 21, uses a relatively unchanging influenza A protein fragment, M2e, and presents it on self-assembling nanoparticles to better engage the immune system.

The vaccine's strong results in initial animal tests point to the possibility of a universal flu vaccine that provides long-term protection against serious illness from both ordinary and novel flu strains.

"This experimental vaccine has the potential to protect against diverse seasonal influenza A strains as well as future emergent strains that could cause pandemics," says study senior author Jiang Zhu, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research.

[weatheriscool]

Catalyst makes drugs inside the body to minimize side effects
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-catalyst- ... -side.html
by RIKEN

A highly active catalyst capable of synthesizing drug molecules within the body has been developed by RIKEN chemists. In mice, an anticancer drug assembled near tumors using the injected catalyst suppressed tumor growth.

The paper is published in the journal Chemical Science.

In conventional medicines delivered by injection or pill, the active drug molecule circulates throughout the body, flooding not only the target site but also healthy tissues. The resulting side effects can be so serious that they can cause permanent damage and force treatment to be stopped.

[weatheriscool]

MS drug to treat and repair nerve damage is edging closer to reality
By Bronwyn Thompson
December 11, 2023

Effective targeted treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and even the repair of damaged nerves caused by the disease could soon be within grasp, thanks to yet another breakthrough in the field of small molecule drug research.

Researchers led by a team at Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have focused their work on a small molecule drug that targets the glutamate receptor AMPA, and results from the study show great promise in its new approach to treating MS.

Working with three newly synthesized compounds, one stood out – now known as ZCAN262 – which both reduced MS-like symptoms and showed promise in repairing myelin in two different animal models.

“Our compound had a stunning effect on rescuing myelin and motor function in the lab models, and I hope these effects will translate to the clinic to add to current treatments and bring new hope to patients with MS,” said Fang Liu, who has been researching MS treatment for more than a decade.

https://newatlas.com/medical/ms-drug-re ... ve-damage/

[firestar464]

Unstable 'fluttering' predicts aortic aneurysm with 98% accuracy

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12- ... uracy.html

[weatheriscool]

AI generates proteins with exceptional binding strengths
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-ai-genera ... ngths.html
by Ian Haydon, University of Washington School of Medicine

A new study in Nature reports an AI-driven advance in biotechnology with implications for drug development, disease detection, and environmental monitoring. Scientists at the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington School of Medicine used software to create protein molecules that bind with exceptionally high affinity and specificity to a variety of challenging biomarkers, including human hormones.

Notably, the scientists achieved the highest interaction strength ever reported between a computer-generated biomolecule and its target.

[weatheriscool]

Single-dose inhaled dry powder vaccine may replace arm jabs
By Paul McClure
December 17, 2023
https://newatlas.com/medical/inhaled-dr ... -immunity/

Researchers have developed a single-dose powdered vaccine that is inhaled directly into the lungs to produce an effective immune response. The vaccine can deliver multiple antigens, meaning one dose could provide broad-spectrum protection against several respiratory viruses.

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to advances in vaccine technologies, including the now well-known mRNA vaccines. Most of these are administered by intramuscular injection, which produces a humoral – a body fluid, not cell-based – immunity and relies on antibodies to neutralize the virus. While intramuscular SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality significantly, they have less impact on viral transmission rates.

[caltrek]

Location, Location, Location: The Hidden Power of Intracellular Neighborhoods
December 21, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert)

Highlights

• Messenger RNA (mRNA) is translated into proteins in the cytoplasm of cells. But rather than being a uniform “soup,” the cytoplasm is divided into multiple distinct compartments or regions.

• Each region is largely responsible for translating functionally similar types of mRNA, a new MSK study finds. And the location of translation determines the amount of protein produced by the mRNA.

• The movement of mRNA to specific regions is directed by their size and shape, as well as by RNA-binding protein partners.

• The findings could help develop new approaches to increase or alter the production of proteins in mRNA therapies.

Read more of the Eurkealert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1029748

For a more technical discussion as presented in Molecular Cell : https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fu ... 3)00970-X

[weatheriscool]

Oral peptides: A new era in drug development
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-oral-pept ... -drug.html
by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

For decades, a substantial number of proteins, vital for treating various diseases, have remained elusive to oral drug therapy. Traditional small molecules often struggle to bind to proteins with flat surfaces or require specificity for particular protein homologs. Typically, larger biologics that can target these proteins demand injection, limiting patient convenience and accessibility.

In a new study published in Nature Chemical Biology, scientists from the laboratory of Professor Christian Heinis at EPFL have achieved a significant milestone in drug development. Their research opens the door to a new class of orally available drugs, addressing a long-standing challenge in the pharmaceutical industry.

[Time_Traveller]

Smokers twice as likely to quit by using cytisine, study finds

Mon 1 Jan 2024 05.00 GMT

Smokers who want to quit are more than twice as likely to succeed if they take a pill that dampens nicotine cravings, according to doctors, who said the medicine could play a major role in helping people kick the habit.

Stopping smoking remains one of the most common new year resolutions, but it consistently ranks as one of the hardest to keep, largely because of the highly addictive nature of nicotine.

While many smokers now turn to products that provide nicotine more safely than tobacco, such as vapes, patches and gums, doctors looked at the evidence for a medicine called cytisine, a natural ingredient of laburnum seeds, to help smokers break their addiction.

The medicine has been used in central and eastern Europe for decades, but it is unavailable in most countries, the US included. The drug only recently gained regulatory approval in the UK where the pills will be made available later this month.

Researchers in Argentina analysed 12 randomised controlled trials which compared the success rates of smokers who tried to quit while taking cytisine, a placebo, another smoking cessation drug called varenicline (Champix), or nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gum.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... tudy-finds