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

Gene therapy stimulates protein that blocks immune attack and prevents Type 1 diabetes in mice

2011-07-07
(Press-News.org) Increasing a specific protein in areas of the pancreas that produce insulin blocks the immune attack that causes type 1 diabetes, researchers reported in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, published early online.

The discovery could lead to a drug that prevents the progression of type 1 diabetes in people newly diagnosed who are in the "honeymoon" phase of the disease, when the immune system has not yet destroyed all of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.

The finding could also lead to new drugs for overcoming organ rejection in transplant patients and for improving the survival of transplanted islets – the clusters of cells in the pancreas that contain beta cells.

Normally, as the immune system successfully defeats an infection, a special type of white blood cell called T-regulatory cells produce chemical signals that turn off the immune response.

The researchers took advantage of this phenomenon as they sought to protect the beta cells from immune attack.

They used a modified virus to insert the gene for a protein called CCL22 into the beta cells of a strain of mice known to develop diabetes. The gene caused the beta cells to produce the CCL22 protein. This attracted T-regulatory cells, which blocked the attacking immune cells and prevented most of the mice from developing type 1 diabetes.

CCL22 was discovered years ago by ovarian cancer researchers who noticed that tumours emit the protein to avoid being destroyed by the immune system.

"It's a novel way to turn down the immune system specifically in the region of the beta cells inside the pancreas, and that may be a big advantage over general immune suppression, which can have significant side effects," says Dr. Bruce Verchere, one of the study's principal investigators. He is head of the diabetes research program at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital, Irving K Barber Chair in Diabetes Research, and professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Department of Surgery at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

The study's co-lead author Dr. Joel Montane says more research is needed before the findings can be used clinically.

"Next, we need to better understand the mechanism," says Dr. Montane, a UBC post-doctoral fellow at CFRI. "We don't know exactly how CCL22 attracts T-regulatory cells to inhibit the immune response. Once we understand that, it may lead to a drug that can prevent or reverse diabetes."

"The research points to CCL22, or a modified form of it, as a potential drug to control the immune response," says Dr. Loraine Bischoff, the co-lead author. "Our strategy might also be used in other autoimmune disorders and in transplantation. The issue is how to administer it to humans. It's exciting because there are presently clinical trials using T-regulatory cells to prevent autoimmune disease."

A team of CFRI-UBC scientists, including co-principal investigator Dr. Rusung Tan, worked on this discovery.

INFORMATION:

This research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

The Diabetes Research Program at CFRI is supported by BC Children's Hospital Foundation and the Canucks for Kids Fund.

CFRI conducts discovery, clinical and applied research to benefit the health of children and families. It is the largest institute of its kind in Western Canada. CFRI works in close partnership with UBC; BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre, agencies of PHSA; and BC Children's Hospital Foundation. CFRI has additional important relationships with British Columbia's (B.C.'s) five regional health authorities and with B.C. academic institutions Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. For more information, visit www.cfri.ca.

UBC is one of Canada's largest and most prestigious public research and teaching institutions, and one of only two Canadian institutions to be consistently ranked among the world's 40 best universities. Surrounded by the beauty of the Canadian West, it is a place that inspires bold, new ways of thinking that have helped make it a national leader in areas as diverse as community service learning, sustainability and research commercialization. UBC attracts $550 million per year in research funding from government, non-profit organizations and industry through 7,000 grants. For more information, visit www.ubc.ca.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Childhood asthma linked to depression during pregnancy

2011-07-07
July 5, 2011– Anxiety, stress and depression during pregnancy may lead to a greater risk of asthma for your child, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Study results are published in the July issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). "Approximately 70% of mothers who said they experienced high levels of anxiety or depression while they were pregnant reported their child had wheezed before age 5," said Marilyn Reyes, senior research ...

Just add water and treat brain cancer

2011-07-07
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a technique that delivers gene therapy into human brain cancer cells using nanoparticles that can be freeze-dried and stored for up to three months prior to use. The shelf-stable particles may obviate the need for virus-mediated gene therapy, which has been associated with safety concerns. The report appears in the August issue of Biomaterials. "Most nonviral gene therapy methods have very low efficacy," says Jordan Green, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins. ...

IVF 'vanishing twin' linked with birth defects

2011-07-07
A significant discovery by University of Adelaide researchers shows that the loss of a twin during early pregnancy explains the increased risk of birth defects in multiple IVF pregnancies. The annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Stockholm today will hear Associate Professor Michael Davies explain how the "vanishing twin" phenomenon is linked to a nearly two-fold increased risk of congenital malformation in the surviving baby, and a threefold increase in multiple birth defects. The phenomenon occurs when there are fewer babies ...

Study: Breastfeeding does not protect against MS relapses

2011-07-07
ST. PAUL, Minn. – New research finds breastfeeding doesn't appear to protect against multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, despite previous studies suggesting there may be a protective role. The research is published in the July 6, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). "Breastfeeding should not be encouraged by doctors to protect against MS relapses, especially among women with MS who have high disease activity and high risk of postpartum relapses," said study author Emilio Portaccio, MD, of the University of Florence ...

Canada's Cancer Risk Management model is an important new health tool for policymakers

2011-07-07
If Canada's smoking rates were cut by half to an average national rate of 11% within five years, it would result in 35,900 fewer cases of lung cancer by 2030 and save $656 million in treatment costs, according to analysis using a new web-enabled platform developed for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). "The Cancer Risk Management simulation model developed for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer simulates the demographic ...

Women, elderly, minorities poorly represented in lung cancer drug trial data submitted to US FDA

2011-07-07
Women, older people and minorities are enrolled less frequently in lung cancer drug trials and the numbers do not reflect the prevalence of lung cancer in these populations, according to research presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). "Our results suggest that the trial population used for approval of drugs do not represent well the U.S. population who may receive the marketed agent," said principal investigator Dr. Shakun Malik, a medical officer at the U.S. Food ...

Elderly Dutch lung patients' survival improved by new treatment options between 2003-2009

2011-07-07
New developments such as stereotactic ablative radiotherapy and improvements in surgical care in early-stage lung cancer have led to large survival gains for elderly Dutch patients, according to a population-based study presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). The median survival for Dutch non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients increased by nearly 8 months between 2003 and 2009, following the advent of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. "In fit patients, surgery ...

Increased investment in thoracic surgical expertise increased UK lung cancer resection rate

2011-07-07
Increased investment in specialist thoracic surgical expertise can lead to a significant rise in the lung cancer resection rate, based on data from England between 2008 and 2009 that was presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). In England, lung cancer resection is less common than in other countries, and is performed by both cardiothoracic and pure thoracic surgeons. Researchers tested the hypotheses that resection rate was related to the caseload and local provision ...

Celecoxib may prevent lung cancer in former smokers

2011-07-07
PHILADELPHIA — Celecoxib may emerge as a potent chemopreventive agent for lung cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Researchers tested celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, among patients who were former smokers and found a significant benefit in bronchial health as measured by the Ki-67 labeling index, a marker of cellular proliferation or growth, as well as a number of other biomarkers. The findings follow a previous report published in Cancer Prevention Research that showed a similar effect ...

New study: Cheap, common drug could dramatically reduce malaria transmission in Africa

2011-07-07
(Deerfield, Ill., USA - July 6, 2011) A cheap, common heartworm medication that is already being used to fight other parasites in Africa could also dramatically interrupt transmission of malaria, potentially providing an inexpensive tool to fight a disease that kills almost 800,000 people each year, according to a new study published today in the July edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The study by scientists from Senegal and Colorado State University found that transmission of malaria parasites by mosquitoes fell substantially among people ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Contrasting risk profiles for suicide attempt and suicide

Future-focused conservation index identifies reptiles as highest conservation priority

Ideological polarization and the spread of biased or fake news on Facebook are on the rise, according to a study by the UPF

New study reveals how tiny but powerful gatekeepers guard the nucleus

Discovery of a brown dwarf orbiting a red dwarf through the synergy of ground- and space-based observatories

CPA journal wins prestigious award at high-quality development conference

Disruptive investments can build a cleaner aviation industry

Wearable optical device distinguishes blood flow signals from the brain and scalp

USC-Caltech study moves novel tool to measure brain blood flow closer to the clinic

Changes in colorectal cancer screening modalities among insured individuals

Seaweed makes for eco-friendly tissue scaffolds and reduces animal testing

New study: AI chatbots systematically violate mental health ethics standards

Smoking both cannabis and tobacco may alter brain’s ‘bliss molecule,’ study finds

The rise of longevity clinics: Promise, risk, and the future of aging

Decoding the T-cell burst: Signature genes that predict T-cell expansion in cancer immunotherapy

Biomarker can help predict preeclampsia risk in women with sickle cell disease

AI models can now be customized with far less data and computing power

Twenty-five centers join Bronchiectasis and NTM Care Center Network

Botox-like substance brings relief to Ukrainian war amputees

People with dark personality traits use touch to manipulate their partners

It’s not just diet: where a child lives also raises type 2 diabetes risk

Predicting physical activity change after a cardiovascular diagnosis

Algorithmic outreach leads to information inequality

Szeged researchers accelerate personalized medicine with AI-powered 3D cell analysis

Offline interactions predict voting patterns better than online networks

Hanyang University researchers develop novel facet guided metal plating strategy, improving stability anode-free metal batteries

When cells run a red light: Double trouble for old models in cell division

Epigenetic reprogramming safely modifies multiple genes in T Cells simultaneously for CAR-T therapies

How hard is it to dim the Sun?

Researchers launch survey to unlock the secrets of vivid memory

[Press-News.org] Gene therapy stimulates protein that blocks immune attack and prevents Type 1 diabetes in mice