(Press-News.org) MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL JULY 3, 2023 AT NOON ET) – The median length of survival after diagnosis of glioblastoma is 14 months, but some of these brain tumors are more aggressive and resistant to treatment than others, and a new study from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine suggests reactivation of an ancient retrovirus may be at least partly to blame.
“Our lab found that an evolutionary dormant retrovirus from 6 million years ago – HML-2, a subtype of HERV-K– contributes to brain tumor formation. We demonstrated for the first time that this virus, when reactivated, plays a role in defining the stem-cell state of high-grade gliomas, promoting an aggressive form of cancer,” said neurosurgeon Dr. Ashish Shah, principal investigator at Sylvester’s Brain Tumor Initiative (BTI), and first author of a paper in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Cancer stem cells, a subpopulation of cells in cancers, drive tumor initiation and development and influence how aggressive and resistant to treatment a cancer will be. This study, conducted by researchers from Sylvester, Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health, found that HML-2 altered stem cell programming by activating a gene-regulating protein called OCT4. HML-2 was previously implicated in the genesis and development of other cancers, but this is believed to be the first study showing the virus’ effects in gliomas and describing the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved.
“Our results suggest that HML-2 fundamentally contributes to the glioblastoma stem-cell niche, the microenvironment that supports stem cells and determines their fate,” said Dr. Avindra Nath, clinical director of the Division of Intramural Research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health.
“We conducted a comprehensive translational investigation of HML-2 expression in glioblastoma and its role in maintaining the cancer stem cell phenotype,” said Nath, the article’s senior author. Results were based on analyses of patient-derived glioblastoma cells and mouse model studies.
The team’s findings give researchers targets for developing therapies; and in their work, an anti-retroviral drug significantly reduced HML-2 activity and reduced tumor stem-cell markers, said Shah, director of clinical trials and translational research and principal investigator in the Section of Virology and Immunotherapy at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Brain Tumor Initiative (BTI).
“Targeting the glioblastoma stem cell niche is an attractive option to prevent alterations in stem cells and reduce tumor recurrence and treatment resistance,” he said.
HML-2, a subtype of HERV-K, is one of many human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), ancestral relics of retroviral infections that occurred throughout history and led to the integration of viral sequences into the human genome. HERVs, making up about 8% of the human genome, are usually silent – unable to cause infection – but scientists have recently discovered that some can be reactivated in certain cancers.
Authors from the University of Miami include first author Shah, Vaidya Govindarajan, Dr. Jay Chandar, Deepa Seetharam, PhD, Jelisah Desgraves, Dr. Michael Ivan, and Dr. Ricardo Komotar. A full list of authors and affiliations is available in the article.
Funding: The work was funded in part by the Intramural Program of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation, and the Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research.
Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Publication: Journal of Clinical Investigation: Human Endogenous Retrovirus-K contributes to a unique stem-cell niche in glioblastoma.
DOI: 10.1172/JCI167929
# # #
END
Scientists have for the first time observed the early universe running in extreme slow motion, unlocking one of the mysteries of Einstein’s expanding universe.
Einstein’s general theory of relativity means that we should observe the distant – and hence ancient – universe running much slower than the present day. However, peering back that far in time has proven elusive. Scientists have now cracked that mystery by using quasars as ‘clocks'.
“Looking back to a time when the universe was ...
IHME/Mass General Brigham study finds rates highest for Black population; largest increase seen in American Indian and Alaskan Native populations
High rates of maternal mortality found in northern Mountain states and the Midwest in addition to the South, a region traditionally known to have high rates
Study is the first such analysis for every state, showing differences in each by racial and ethnic groups
A new study by investigators from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of ...
Brigham researchers mapped lesions related to epilepsy to a common brain circuit
This study points to a novel role of deep brain circuits in the cause and control of epilepsy
New findings highlight the possibility of using this brain circuit to guide brain stimulation treatments for epilepsy
Focal epilepsy affects over 30 million patients worldwide and is commonly caused by brain lesions, such as stroke. However, it is unclear why some lesion locations cause epilepsy while others do not. A new study by investigators from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, found ...
About The Study: Food insecurity was associated with slightly faster memory decline among middle to older–age individuals, suggesting possible long-term negative cognitive function outcomes associated with exposure to food insecurity in older age.
Authors: Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri, Ph.D., of Columbia University in New York, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.21474)
Editor’s ...
About The Study: While maternal mortality remains unacceptably high among all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., American Indian and Alaska Native and Black individuals are at increased risk, particularly in several states where these inequities had not been previously highlighted. Maternal mortality persists as a source of worsening disparities in many U.S. states and prevention efforts during this study period (1999 to 2019) appear to have had a limited impact in addressing this health crisis.
Authors: Gregory A. ...
About The Study: Childhood diabetes is an increasing global health challenge with rising incidence. Results of this study suggest that despite the global decline in deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), the number of deaths and DALYs remains high among children with diabetes, especially in low Sociodemographic Index regions. Improved understanding of the epidemiology of diabetes in children may facilitate prevention and control.
Authors: Xiaodong Sun, M.D., Ph.D., and Ningning Hou, M.D., of the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical ...
About The Study: The results of this study suggest that from 1999 to 2020, death rates due to poisonings, firearms, and all other injuries increased substantially in the U.S. The rapid increase in deaths due to unintentional poisonings and firearm homicides is a national emergency that requires urgent public health interventions at the local and national levels.
Authors: Wayne R. Lawrence, Dr.P.H., of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is the corresponding author.
To ...
· Use of successful medications to break up blood clots rose from 4% to 14% due to new approach
Suspected stroke victims now bypass emergency room for CT scanner and nurse stroke experts, who support patient care team
Community educators went to beauty and barber shops, churches and water distribution centers to deliver stroke-awareness talks
Approach can be duplicated by other communities to improve treatment
CHICAGO --- The use of thrombolysis, medications to break up blood clots, for acute ischemic stroke reduces post-stroke disability, but it is underutilized. This particularly affects Black individuals, who experience ...
Our body’s fat metabolism plays a vital role in energy production in our body. A research team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has discovered a molecular switch that regulates lipid metabolism in our cells. This switch controls the storage or conversion of lipids into energy.
All organisms need energy to live. We get energy from various components of our food. Our body uses a part of this energy directly and stores the rest. While glucose serves as an immediately available energy source, fats are stored as energy reserve in form of lipid droplets within our cells.
When the body needs energy from these fat stores, lipids are transported ...
Artificial intelligence can predict on- and off-target activity of CRISPR tools that target RNA instead of DNA, according to new research published in Nature Biotechnology.
The study by researchers at New York University, Columbia Engineering, and the New York Genome Center, combines a deep learning model with CRISPR screens to control the expression of human genes in different ways—such as flicking a light switch to shut them off completely or by using a dimmer knob to partially turn down their activity. These precise gene controls could be used to develop new CRISPR-based therapies.
CRISPR is a gene ...
