In a recent study published on the bioRxiv preprint server, researchers evaluated the impact of gene amplification on cross-species adaptation. The researchers demonstrated that the impact of RhTRS1 gene amplification could effectively rescue viral replication in fibroblasts from partially resistant African green monkeys (AGMs). The team infected A549 cells with vaccinia virus (VACV) + RhTRS1 or the VACV strain named Copenhagen, expressing a beta-galactosidase (bg) reporter gene. The team explored whether amplification of rhtrs1 could increase the extent of viral replication in the absence of PKR. The team also infected RNase L competent A549 cells or regularly spaced short palindromic repeats with CRISPR in clusters of RNase L deletion present in existing A549 cells with VACV-RhTRS1, VACV-bg or AGM-A. The results of the study showed that A549 cells restricted VACV + RhTRS1 replication by nearly 10,000-fold compared to VACV-bg replication. The team noted that deletion of A549 PKR cells enhanced VACV + RhTRS1 replication by up to 1000-fold compared to PKR-competent cells. The team observed that RNAase L had no impact on VACV-bg replication. 

A young girl survived an inherited form of pulmonary arterial hypertension thanks to umbilical cord cells.

In what appears to be a very promising breakthrough for the treatment of rectal cancer, a small drug trial conducted in the US found every patient treated in the experiment had their cancer successfully go into remission.

The lack of pyrimidine diversity in meteorites remains a mystery since prebiotic chemical models and laboratory experiments have predicted that these compounds can also be produced from chemical precursors found in meteorites. Here the authors report the detection of nucleobases in three carbonaceous meteorites using state-of-the-art analytical techniques optimized for small-scale quantification of nucleobases down to the range of parts per trillion (ppt). In addition to previously detected purine nucleobases in meteorites such as guanine and adenine, they identify various pyrimidine nucleobases such as cytosine, uracil, and thymine, and their structural isomers such as isocytosine, imidazole-4-carboxylic acid, and 6-methyluracil, respectively. Given the similarity in the molecular distribution of pyrimidines in meteorites and those in photon-processed interstellar ice analogues, some of these derivatives could have been generated by photochemical reactions prevailing in the interstellar medium and later incorporated into asteroids during solar system formation. This study demonstrates that a diversity of meteoritic nucleobases could serve as building blocks of DNA and RNA on the early Earth. All DNA/RNA nucleobases were identified in carbonaceous meteorites. Having been provided to the early Earth as a component in carbonaceous meteorites, these molecules might have played a role for the emergence of genetic functions in early life.

She’s the third person ever to be cured. Researchers announced that the new approach holds the potential for curing more people of racially diverse backgrounds.

These studies provide critical insights into the mechanisms governing lymphocyte trafficking in cancer immunity and immunotherapy.

Brain metastases from breast cancer develop in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Current treatment options for brain metastases include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and targeted therapies, but these have limited success and may worsen neurological function. Because 80% of women with brain metastases from breast cancer die within a year of diagnosis, Cittelly and her team want to find a way to target cancer cells after they have spread to the brain.

Working with cells in the lab, they have identified the interleukin 13 receptor alpha 2 (IL13Ra2) as a likely target for treatment. This is a protein that is found at increased levels in cancer cells that metastasize to other locations in the body, particularly the brain and lungs. In addition, the protein has shown vulnerability to treatment with CAR T cells in clinical trials of brain tumors. The researchers' next step is to initiate a collaboration with CAR T cell experts to better understand how CAR T cell therapy might target IL13Ra2.

Ultimately, Cittelly hopes to see clinical trials for patients with breast cancer that has metastasized to the brain, as they are currently excluded from clinical trials.

A new study published by researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine in the medical journal Nature Medicine conclued that convalescent plasma did not reduce the risk of intubation or death at 30 d in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Transfusion of convalescent plasma with unfavorable antibody profiles could be associated with worse clinical outcomes compared to standard care.

Moffitt Cancer Center, a national leader in cancer care and research and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Florida, is presenting new data from dozens of clinical research studies at this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, the largest clinical cancer research meeting in the world. Moffitt investigators will lead 25 abstract presentations, five educational sessions, two cancer panels and two clinical science symposia. The virtual meeting will take place June 4-8, 2021. Among those presenting will be Dr. Bijal Shah, who will discuss the results of the Phase 2 ZUMA-3 trial evaluating CAR T-cell therapy for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a difficult-to-treat malignancy in this patient population. Also on hand will be Dr. Frederick Locke, who will present data from the ALPHA2 trial evaluating ALLO-501, an allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy product, in combination with ALLO-647, a monoclonal antibody that depletes lymphocytes in the body to help prepare the patient to receive new immune cells, in patients with large B-cell lymphoma.

The recent emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.1.7 in the UK11 and B.1.351 in South Africa12 is of concern because of their purported ease of transmission and extensive mutations in the spike protein. This study reports that B.1.1.7 is refractory to neutralization by most mAbs to the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the spike and relatively resistant to a few mAbs to the receptor-binding domain (RBD). It is not more resistant to convalescent plasma or vaccinee sera. Findings on B.1.351 are more worrisome in that this variant is not only refractory to neutralization by most NTD mAbs but also by multiple individual mAbs to the receptor-binding motif on RBD, largely owing to an E484K mutation. Moreover, B.1.351 is markedly more resistant to neutralization by convalescent plasma (9.4 fold) and vaccinee sera (10.3-12.4 fold). B.1.351 and emergent variants13,14 with similar spike mutations present new challenges for mAb therapy and threaten the protective efficacy of current vaccines.

Understanding immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 is critical for improving diagnostics and vaccines, and for assessing the likely future course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists analyzed multiple compartments of circulating immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 in 254 samples from 188 COVID-19 cases, including 43 samples at ≥ 6 months post-infection. IgG to the Spike protein was relatively stable over 6+ months. Spike-specific memory B cells were more abundant at 6 months than at 1 month post symptom onset. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells declined with a half-life of 3-5 months. By studying antibody, memory B cell, CD4+ T cell, and CD8+ T cell memory to SARS-CoV-2 in an integrated manner, they observed that each component of SARS-CoV-2 immune memory exhibited distinct kinetics.