What's new in August 2020
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Blood cancers like leukemia can be effectively treated with chemotherapy, but relapse usually occurs, due to resistant cancer cells that evade the original drug regimen. Researchers led by HSCI co-director David Scadden have identified a unique characteristic of resistant cancer cells that could be targeted for treatment.
- What they did: The researchers studied resistant cancer cells in a mouse model, comparing how they behaved right after chemotherapy versus later when relapse occurred.
- What they found: The cells left after chemotherapy went through a temporary change in metabolism, or how they use nutrients. When the researchers targeted the metabolic pathway, resistant cells were eliminated and disease survival improved.
- Why it matters: Drugs could be used to target the metabolic pathway at a specific point in time, eliminating resistant cells and improving patient outcomes.
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HSCI scientists led by Yu-Hua Tseng have developed a potential cell therapy to treat obesity, the main cause of type 2 diabetes and related chronic illnesses.
- What they did: Compared to white fat cells that store energy, beneficial brown fat cells burn energy. The researchers used gene editing to modify developmental-stage human white fat cells, causing them to develop into brown-fat-like cells.
- What they found: When the brown-fat-like cells were transplanted into mice, the animals had a much greater sensitivity to insulin and ability to clear glucose from the blood, two key factors that are impaired in type 2 diabetes.
- Why it matters: This therapeutic approach could improve the metabolism, body weight, quality of life, and overall health of people with obesity and diabetes.
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