Biweekly Research News Digest
We are excited to announce the issue of the Biweekly Research News Digest. This is a biweekly newsletter designed to share with you research news in various fields where applications of gene sequencing can be found. Once every two weeks, we will be sharing research findings from our customers with joy and pride. By sharing insights from the most prestigious research teams, we hope to call your attention to the latest applications of sequencing in life sciences and biomedical research and inspire your research. Hopefully, this newsletter can serve as a hub for research ideas.
This week, five articles in the field of cancer research will be presented. The researchers studied various types of cancer ranging from bladder caner to hepatocellular carcinoma and adopted a wide range of sequencing technologies, including ChIP-seq, whole transcriptome sequencing, and eukaryote mRNA-seq. Together, those articles represent latest progress in the field of cancer research
Notch1 Signaling in Cancer Cachexia
In a paper recently published in Nature Cancer, Jacqueline Taylor from German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and her colleagues investigated the role played by Notch1 signalling in cancer cachexia, one of whose typical symptoms is weight loss resulting from adipose and muscle tissue wasting. They used human and mouse cancer models and demonstrated that in male mice, white adipose tissue (WAT) wasting is induced by sustained endothelial Notch1 signaling, which is in turn overactivated in distant WAT endothelium by tumors in the stage of precachexia. The team further demonstrated that blockading the above-mentioned signaling inhibits WAT wasting in mice. Their study calls our attention to the possibility that the pathway identified above be targeted for treatment.
LncRNA BCCE4 and the PD-L1/PD-1 Interaction in Smoking-Related Bladder Cancer
The identification of variants related to cancer enhanced our understanding of the origins of cancer. Identifying those in the functional regions of long non-coding RNAs has become the focus of tumor etiology. A team from Nanjing Medical University and its affiliated hospital identified a variant in lncRNA BCCE4 as negatively correlated with bladder cancer susceptibility in the Chinese population and specified its role in regulating the immune response in carcinogenesis. Their findings may help to predict bladder cancer risk and aid in the development of diagnostic and preventive measures.
Molecular Factors Regulating the Differentiation and Migration in Human Neutrophils
Neutrophils are important for the innate immune system, as they play a crucial role in early disease protection. Researchers from the University of Washington and the University of California, Davis conducted a genome-wide study of a neutrophil-like cell line in order to understand the factors regulating proliferation, differentiation, and cell migration. This work provides a valuable method for studying neutrophils and can guide future research on cell migration in fast-moving cells.
Epigenomic Profiling of Cancer to Remedy the Weaknesses of ctDNA Assays
Although the benefits of guiding clinical decisions in cancer treatment with results from circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assays are widely recognized, the limitations in ctDNA assays’ ability to identify the transcriptional programs that control cancer phenotype and their dynamic changes during disease progression are also well known. The latest research co-first authored by Sylvan C. Baca and Ji-Heui Seo from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute published in Nature Medicine demonstrates that epigenomic profiling provides a promising solution. Their research enables them to measure the expression levels of diagnostic markers and drug targets, assess the activity of transcription factors that can be targeted for treatment, and uncover epigenetic resistance mechanisms.
CircRNAs and Vascular Invasion in HCC
Vascular invasion is closely related to intrahepatic and distant metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In order to investigate how circRNAs regulate vascular invasion in HCC as well as the underlying mechanisms, researchers from West China Hospital—one of the most well-recognized hospitals in China—studied candidate circRNAs both in vitro and in vivo. They identified circPSD3 as an important regulator of vascular invasion and metastasis in HCC and suggested that it might be used as a prognostic biomarker and be targeted for treatment.
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About Novogene
Novogene is a leading company that applies advanced molecular biotechnology and high-performance computing in the research fields of life science and human health. Since its establishment in March 2011, Novogene has been dedicated to becoming a global leader in offering genetic science services and technology products. The company has successfully established cutting-edge platforms for high-throughput, large-scale gene sequencing, and high-performance computing. With a strong global presence, Novogene has provided its services to more than 7,000 customers worldwide, spanning 90 countries and regions across six continents. As of June 2023, Novogene has made significant contributions to the scientific community, co-publishing and/or being acknowledged in over 20,000 articles in the Science Citation Index. These publications have collectively garnered an impressive accumulative impact factor of 120,000+.
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