Nanocarrier with Escape Reflex

Tumor-specific drug release through controlled endosomal escape

01-Mar-2024 - Protein-based drugs must be transported into cells in a way that prevents their immediate degradation. A new approach is intended to ensure that they remain intact only in certain cells, such as cancer cells. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a Japanese research team has introduced a nanocarrier ...

Immune system meets cancer: Checkpoint identified to fight solid tumors

Checkpoint PHDGH in tumor-associated macrophages influences immune response and tumor growth

29-Feb-2024 - A study by a scientific team from the University of Vienna and the MedUni Vienna, recently published in the top-class journal Cellular & Molecular Immunology, has a promising result from tumor research: The enzyme phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHDGH) acts as a metabolic checkpoint in the ...

Shredding to plan – protein recycling for immune defense

“If we know how the proteasome generates immunopeptides, we can predict peptide splicing. In future, these predictions could, in turn, help develop novel vaccines against cancer or infectious diseases”

16-Feb-2024 - The waste system of living cells, the proteasome, not only shreds disused or damaged proteins. It also supports the immune system in recognizing virally infected or cancerous cells by producing protein fragments, so-called immunopeptides. In an international collaboration, researchers led by ...

The secret of whales: How giant whales defy cancer

Study of gigantism in whales provides clues to genomic mechanism involved in tumor suppression

15-Feb-2024 - The functioning of certain regions of a few genes in cetaceans (whales, porpoises and dolphins) may explain why the Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) can reach lengths of up to 30 meters – almost 10 m more than a bus – while the Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is 4 m long at most. It can ...

BioNTech and Autolus Announce Strategic CAR-T Cell Therapy Collaboration to Advance Pipeline and Expand Late-Stage Programs

14-Feb-2024 - BioNTech SE and Autolus Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, announced a strategic collaboration aimed at advancing both companies’ autologous CAR-T programs towards commercialization, pending regulatory ...

AI-supported image analysis: metrics determine quality

New online tool helps to select the right algorithm

14-Feb-2024 - How well do the algorithms used in the AI-supported analysis of medical images perform their respective tasks? This depends to a large extent on the metrics used to evaluate their performance. An international consortium led by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the ...

Computer-engineered DNA to study cell identities

“We can follow with our eyes the color in a petri dish when we give a treatment”

12-Feb-2024 - A new computer program allows scientists to design synthetic DNA segments that indicate, in real time, the state of cells. Reported by the Gargiulo lab in “Nature Communications”, it will be used to screen for anti-cancer or viral infections drugs, or to improve gene and cell-based ...

Making Ends Meet: Researchers Find That a Protein Superglue is Crucial for DNA Damage Repair

New Understanding for Cancer Treatments

08-Feb-2024 - Our DNA undergoes constant damage and repair. The most severe damage happens when the DNA breaks into two pieces, known as a double-strand DNA break. It creates two loose DNA ends that, if left unfixed, can lead to cell death. Researchers from the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of the Dresden ...

Epigenetic status determines metastasis

"These results are surprising and could have far-reaching consequences for tumor diagnosis and therapy"

06-Feb-2024 - Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) andMedical Faculty Mannheim of the Heidelberg University investigated in mice how spreading tumor cells behave at the site of metastasis: Some tumor cells immediately start to form metastases. Others leave the blood vessel and may then ...

Artificial intelligence in personalized cancer medicine

New therapies require flexible and safe approval conditions

01-Feb-2024 - Personalized therapies could improve the treatment of many diseases in the future. Cancer medicine in particular has made significant progress in recent years. Applications of artificial intelligence (AI) will allow to adapt personalised therapies in an even more targeted manner. New, AI-based ...