BOLD Innovation that Matters! - June 2023 Translational Research

Here we’ll highlight 14 translational research studies that were published in top-tier journals in June 2023, showcasing BOLD solutions for patients globally.

1. Scientists from Vir Biotechnology, Inc. have discovered a monoclonal antibody called FNI9 that can inhibit the activity of multiple strains of influenza A and B viruses, including those that evade the immune system, and shows potential for preventing influenza illness caused by both seasonal and pandemic viruses.🔬Read more here
2. Ludwig Cancer Research researchers have demonstrated that α2-adrenergic receptor agonists have potent antitumor activity when used as monotherapies in multiple immunocompetent tumor models. These compounds could substantially improve the clinical efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.🔬Read more here
3. Researchers from UC Irvine have discovered that senescent melanocytes in skin nevi can activate hair stem cells, leading to enhanced hair growth, and identified osteopontin as a key signaling factor involved in this process, suggesting the potential of using senescent cells and their secretome to treat regenerative disorders.🔬Read more here
4. Genentech has successfully developed a preclinical model, STAMP, to track the development and dynamics of immune responses in tumors. The model revealed that the immune phenotype of tumors and their response to therapy are influenced by local factors within the tumor microenvironment, with an early transition to an immune-inflamed phenotype predicting successful tumor rejection and highlighting the potential of this approach to guide clinical strategies for cancer therapy.🔬Read more here
5. Scientists from University of Hamburg have developed a strategy based on modifying native tRNAs into suppressor tRNAs that can efficiently decode nonsense mutations, restoring the production of functional proteins. The study provides a framework for the development of tRNA-based premature termination codon (PTC) inhibitors as potential treatment for hereditary diseases caused by nonsense mutations.🔬Read more here
6. Researchers, mainly from University of California, San Francisco , have developed two live attenuated vaccine candidates against poliovirus types 1 and 3, named nOPV1 and nOPV3, which remained attenuated and preserved all documented nOPV2 characteristics concerning genetic stability following accelerated virus evolution, and are highly immunogenic as monovalent and multivalent formulations in mice.🔬Read more here
7. A study in mice conducted by McMaster University has shown that growth differentiating factor 15 (GDF15) counteracts compensatory reductions in energy expenditure, eliciting greater weight loss and reductions in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) compared to caloric restriction alone, indicating that therapeutic targeting of the GDF15-GFRAL pathway may be useful for maintaining energy expenditure in skeletal muscle during caloric restriction.🔬Read more here
8. Scientists from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have developed a non-covalent inhibitor that selectively binds to the inactive state of KRAS while sparing NRAS and HRAS, indicating that most KRAS oncoproteins cycle between an active state and an inactive state in cancer cells, and highlighting the potential of the compound as a therapeutic option for KRAS-driven cancers.🔬Read more here
9. A study led by researchers from the BRIC-National Institute of Immunology has shown that supplementation of taurine, an amino acid that decreases with age, extends healthy lifespan in worms, rodents, and non-human primates, suggesting that taurine deficiency may be a driver of aging.🔬Read more here
10. Scientists from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT have discovered the first programmable RNA-guided DNA-cutting system in eukaryotes based on a protein called Fanzor. The researchers showed that Fanzor can be reprogrammed to edit the human genome, potentially offering more precise genome editing capabilities than CRISPR/Cas systems.🔬Read more here
11. Researchers at Helmholtz Munich have identified icFSP1, a lead of the 3-phenylquinazolinones compound class, as a potent inhibitor of ferroptosis suppressor protein-1 (FSP1) in vivo. icFSP1 sensitizes cancer cells to ferroptosis by triggering phase separation of FSP1, highlighting the potential of targeting FSP1-dependent phase separation as an effective therapy against cancer.🔬Read more here
12. Researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified the cytosolic sensor NLRP12 as a driver of inflammasome and PANoptosome activation, cell death, and inflammation in response to heme plus PAMPs or TNF, demonstrating its essential role in heme plus PAMPs-mediated PANoptosis, inflammation, and pathology, and suggesting it as a potential therapeutic target for infection, hemolytic and inflammatory diseases. 🔬Read more here
13. An international team of researchers led by Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen has demonstrated that cerebrospinal fluid transport via the cochlear aqueduct can serve as an accessible route for gene delivery to the inner ear in adult mice, offering a potential new method for delivering gene therapy to restore hearing in humans with genetic hearing loss.🔬Read more here
14. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have discovered that chromosomal instability (CIN) in cancer cells, which leads to the missegregation of chromosomes into micronuclei, disrupts normal histone modifications and chromatin organization, resulting in heritable epigenetic dysregulation that promotes epigenetic reprogramming and heterogeneity in cancer, potentially affecting gene expression, oncogene activation, and other cellular processes. The findings could lead to new therapeutic opportunities for treating advanced, drug-resistant cancers.🔬Read more here