News & Commentaries

Boston, MA, USA – Epigenetic therapies – targeting enzymes that alter what genes are turned on or off in a cell – are of growing interest in oncology as a way to make cancers less aggressive or less malignant. But now, at least one epigenetic therapy that had looked promising for lung cancer appears to boost the cancer stem cells that are believed to drive tumors. A study published in Nature Communications also identifies a strategy that reduces these stem cells, curbing lung cancer in mice.

Kyoto, Japan – A key determinant of successful immunotherapies is immune cells targeting the pathology with high specificity. CiRA scientists are using iPS cell technology to make a large batch of immune cells for immunotherapies. However, retaining the antigen specificity remains a challenge. A new study by the CiRA Associate Professor Shin Kaneko laboratory reports a method that solves this problem.

San Francisco, CA, USA – Immunotherapy can cure some cancers that until fairly recently were considered fatal. In addition to developing drugs that boost the immune system’s cancer-fighting abilities, scientists are becoming expert at manipulating a patient’s own immune cells, turning them into cancer-killing armies. But cancers have tricks to evade attack, so scientists are racing to outmaneuver cancer and boost the effectiveness of immune cell therapies.

Camrbidge, MA, USA – Researchers have developed a way to grow human heart tissue that can serve as a model for the upper chambers of the heart, known as the atria. The tissue, derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPCSs), beats, expresses genes, and responds to drugs in a manner similar to a real human atrium.