PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study reveals dual role of protein in cancer treatment

The protein IRF1 acts both as an enemy and an ally in the battle against cancer

2024-07-16
(Press-News.org) Investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered new details about the role of a protein called interferon regulatory factor (IRF1) in cancer progression and treatment response, offering new insight that can potentially help improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. 

The study, published in Cell Reports, reveals how IRF1 can both hinder and help the body's immune response to tumors, depending upon which cells the protein is found in. 

“We know IRF1 plays a pivotal role in modulating antiviral immunity,” said Dr. Philip Scumpia, associate professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and senior author of the study. “But there were conflicting reports about whether IRF1 promotes or suppresses antitumor immunity. What was surprising to us was that the role of IRF1 was different depending upon which cells expressed it, potentially explaining the conflicting reports. Our findings add a layer of complexity to our understanding of IRF1 and its role in immunotherapy.”

Immunotherapy continues to be a powerful approach in cancer treatment. It works by harnessing the body’s immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. While immunotherapy has shown success in treating certain types of cancer and can lead to long-term remission in some patients, it still does not work for everyone. 

Understanding the mechanisms of proteins like IRF1 can help refine immunotherapy strategies, making them more effective for a broader range of patients, noted Scumpia. 

To dissect the role of IRF1 in tumor growth and immune response, the team of researchers looked at what happens when IRF1 is missing in both tumor cells and surrounding cells. 

“We previously showed that cells exposed to ionizing radiation, a well-known treatment for cancer, induced an immune response through IRF1. We wanted to see whether IRF1 regulated similar immune responses in growing tumors,” said Dr. Prabhat Purbey, a project scientist in the Scumpia laboratory and first author of the study. 

First, the team created IRF1-deficient clones of various tumor cells and compared the growth of these genetically modified tumors to normal tumors, assessing immune cell infiltration using histology and flow cytometry. Then they examined the effect of immune checkpoint blockade therapy, a type of immunotherapy, on these tumors and performed single-cell RNA sequencing to understand the immune cell activation states.

They found that the presence of IRF1 in tumor cells can actually weaken the immune response by promoting T cell exhaustion and by affecting toll-like receptor and type-I interferon responses. This happens because IRF1 in tumor cells increases levels of several immune checkpoints, including IDO-1 and PD-L1, proteins that inhibit T cell activity while altering the expression of proteins involved in antigen presentation. 

However, IRF1 is crucial for immune cell development, recruitment, and function of cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, key immune cells that can directly attack the tumor.

“These findings suggest that reducing IRF1 in tumor cells, or activating it in immune cells, could enhance cancer treatment effectiveness by boosting the body’s natural antitumor immunity,” said Scumpia, who is also a member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “We now have a clearer picture of where IRF1 can impact immunotherapy and how we can tune it to help in the fight against cancer.”

While more study is needed to understand if targeting IRF1 in tumor cells or immune cells will be beneficial after a tumor has grown in the body, this research has helped clarify why IRF1 was shown to be a hindrance or a help in different cancer scenarios. 

“The potential to manipulate IRF1 in specific ways could change the way we approach cancer immunotherapy," Scumpia said. "Our goal is to translate these findings into treatments that offer real hope and improved outcomes for cancer patients."

The study’s other authors, all from UCLA, are Joowon Seo, Manash Paul, Keisuke Iwamoto, Allison Daly, An-Chieh Feng, Ameya Champhekar, Justin Langerman, Katie Campbell, Dörthe Schaue, William McBride, Steven Dubinett, Antoni Ribas and Stephen Smale.

This work was supported in part by grants from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, National Institutes of Health, the VA Office of Research and Development and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Friends and at-risk youth may need extra support for their mental well-being

2024-07-16
Friends of young people who self-harm or have suicidal thoughts may need additional support to prevent negative outcomes on their own mental wellbeing, in addition to the support needed by young people who self-harm. While much research rightly focuses on young people at risk and their families, friendships are rarely considered in research into self-harm, according to a new study from experts at the University of Birmingham. In an extensive literature review, the team set out to draw together all the research in this area to reach a better understanding of common themes around friendship and self-harm ...

Children living in deprived areas are three times more likely to need dental extractions in hospital

2024-07-16
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have found that children living in areas with high levels of deprivation are three times more likely to have severe tooth decay that requires a dental extraction in hospital, compared with children living in more affluent areas. The findings highlight an urgent need for equitable access to preventive dentistry. In the study, published today (16 July 2024) in BMJ Public Health, researchers analysed de-identified GP and hospital records for 600,000 children ...

Lowering systolic blood pressure below 120 mmHg may reduce dementia risk among Black, Latino populations

2024-07-16
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, July 15, 2024 Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## Lowering Systolic Blood Pressure below 120 mmHg May Reduce Dementia Risk Among Black, Latino Populations A new study suggests that reducing systolic blood pressure below the clinically safe threshold of 120 mmHg over time may produce slight health-protective benefits against late-life dementia and help reduce racial and ethnic disparities in both hypertension and hypertension control.  Hypertension is one of the most modifiable risk factors for dementia, but most research on dementia risk reduction through blood ...

When to let Amazon sell for you

2024-07-16
AUSTIN, Texas — On Prime Day, Amazon shoppers will be able to browse over 600 million products. They may not be aware that most of those listings are from non-Amazon sellers, who account for 60% of sales on the platform. Most are small- and medium-sized businesses: bookstores selling used hardbacks, toymakers selling original goods, and distributors unloading clothes. What shoppers also don’t see is the choice that the platform and the seller make about how to interact. Is it better ...

New OpenScope projects aim to pioneer the future of neuroscience

New OpenScope projects aim to pioneer the future of neuroscience
2024-07-16
By Jake Siegel SEATTLE, WASH.—July 15, 2024—How do neurons react to magic mushrooms? What happens in the brain when we see motion, or when we recognize grain patterns in a piece of wood? How do our brains track the subtle changes in our friends’ appearances over time?  The Allen Institute has launched four projects to investigate these questions through OpenScope, a shared neuroscience observatory. Just as astronomers use a few well-equipped observatories to study the universe, the OpenScope program lets neuroscientists worldwide propose and direct experiments on the Allen Brain Observatory pipeline. ...

Silicon photonics light the way toward large-scale applications in quantum information

Silicon photonics light the way toward large-scale applications in quantum information
2024-07-15
In a significant leap forward for quantum technology, researchers have achieved a milestone in harnessing the frequency dimension within integrated photonics. This breakthrough not only promises advancements in quantum computing but also lays the groundwork for ultra-secure communications networks. Integrated photonics, the manipulation of light within tiny circuits on silicon chips, has long held promise for quantum applications due to its scalability and compatibility with existing telecommunications infrastructure. In a study published in Advanced Photonics, researchers from the Centre for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology (C2N), Télécom Paris, ...

Better together: spatial arrangement of three immune cells is key to attacking tumors

Better together: spatial arrangement of three immune cells is key to attacking tumors
2024-07-15
There’s a frustrating fact about today’s immunotherapies for cancer. While sometimes they work beautifully — completely eliminating or greatly reducing cancer in particular patients — other times they don’t work at all. It’s a mystery. Scientists have posed several hypotheses to explain the disparity. Perhaps it’s the number of mutations present in a tumor, with more mutations leading to better responses. Or maybe it’s the tissue environment surrounding the tumor, with some environments supporting and others suppressing effective immune responses. But so far, none of these ...

How a ‘social good’ firm is defined can impact its value creation and value capital

2024-07-15
Ventures that pursue both commercial and social value creation have grown in popularity in recent years, but a new study published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal better defines four distinct types of social ventures. By training a business model lens on these social good ventures, the study offers insight on how the model choices impact a firm's value creation and value capture potential. “Despite the popularity of the term ‘social entrepreneurship,’ not much was known about the business model of such companies yet,” says study co-author Lien De Cuyper of ...

American diets got briefly healthier, more diverse during COVID-19 pandemic

2024-07-15
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — American diets may have gotten healthier and more diverse in the months following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The study — published in PLOS ONE — found that as states responded to the pandemic with school closures and other lockdown measures, citizens’ diet quality improved by up to 8.5% and food diversity improved by up to 2.6%. Co-author Edward Jaenicke, professor of agricultural economics in the College ...

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2024

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2024
2024-07-15
The latest ecological research will be on full display at the Ecological Society of America’s upcoming Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California, Aug. 4–9. A focal point of the conference, symposia consist of four 20-minute talks organized around a central theme of broad interest. These sessions consider topics from different angles, integrate multiple lines of evidence and offer new insights on ecological phenomena. This year, Annual Meeting symposia will address nonmaterial (“cultural”) ecosystem services, nature-based solutions to problems like stormwater runoff and urban heat, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Viking colonizers of Iceland and nearby Faroe Islands had very different origins, study finds

One in 20 people in Canada skip doses, don’t fill prescriptions because of cost

Wildlife monitoring technologies used to intimidate and spy on women, study finds

Around 450,000 children disadvantaged by lack of school support for color blindness

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

[Press-News.org] Study reveals dual role of protein in cancer treatment
The protein IRF1 acts both as an enemy and an ally in the battle against cancer