In a study, researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch and collaborative institutions suggest an mRNA vaccine approach that can provide broad protection against existing and future COVID-19 variants.   Emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants has posed constant challenges to the current COVID-19 vaccines. But by developing a vaccine that targets two viral proteins rather than one, scientists at UTMB may have found a way to combat the variants.   “Our data showed that dual spike...

Researchers from Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered potential new drugs that work in concert with other drugs to deliver a deadly one-two punch to leukemia.   The potential drugs are still years away from being tested in cancer patients, but there are innovative methods that led to their discovery.   In previous studies, the research groups of Rice biochemist Natasha Kirienko and MD Anderson physician-scientist Marina Konopleva screened some 45,000...

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumors generally display specific genetic alterations that cause cancer cells to increase the metabolism of glutamine. Dual targeting of glucose and glutamine metabolism by the mTOR inhibitor everolimus, plus the glutaminase inhibitor telaglenastat, showed preclinical synergistic anticancer effects. The Phase II ENTRATA study, led by Nizar Tannir, M.D., enrolled 69 patients with a median of three prior lines of therapy for advanced metastatic disease, including 100% with two or more prior...

During DNA replication, topoisomerase proteins (TOPs) play a critical role in making temporary DNA-strand breaks so they can be untangled and made accessible to the replication machinery. Some chemotherapies, such as camptothecin work by trapping TOPs on the DNA, causing sustained breaks and cell death. The TDP1 protein can help repair this damage, but it is not clear what other players may be involved in this process. A new study led by Huimin Zhang, Ph.D.,...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new approach to quantify tumor-specific total mRNA levels from patient tumor samples, which contain both cancer and non-cancer cells. Using this technique on tumors from more than 6,500 patients across 15 cancer types, the researchers demonstrated that higher mRNA levels in cancer cells were associated with reduced patient survival.   The study suggests this computational approach could permit large-scale analyses of tumor-specific total mRNA...

The path to cancer prevention is long and arduous for legions of researchers, but new work by Rice University scientists shows that there may be shortcuts. Rice chemist Anatoly Kolomeisky, lead author and postdoctoral researcher Hamid Teimouri and research assistant Cade Spaulding are developing a theoretical framework to explain how cancers caused by more than one genetic mutation can be more easily identified and perhaps stopped.   Essentially, it does so by identifying and ignoring transition pathways that don’t contribute...

Doctors at Houston Methodist Neuroscience & Spine Center at Sugar Land continue to advance neurological care with new technologies that improve patient treatment and safety.   “We are seeing rising numbers of stroke patients across the country, due to a variety of factors,” said Tsz Lau, M.D., a board-certified neurosurgeon at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. “We need to be able to treat more patients, faster, to ensure that we are protecting brain function and...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a novel strategy to reduce immune-related adverse events from immunotherapy treatment by targeting the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). The study establishes a proof of concept for combining immune checkpoint blockade with cytokine blockers to inhibit inflammatory autoimmune responses selectively. While combination immunotherapy with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 agents has revolutionized treatment for multiple cancer types, it also has high toxicity rates, which can affect the...

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch recently confirmed the presence of neutralizing antibodies to SARS–COV-2 in a common subcutaneous antibody therapy (Hizentra) used to treat immunocompromised or immunodeficient patients, citing its protective benefits to the immunocompromised patient community. An immune deficiency can be a result of a variety of factors, including a genetic disorder or the medication a patient takes. That can leave a patient with a weakened immune system that is unable...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that two distinct classes of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) accumulate in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment and play opposing roles to promote and restrain pancreatic cancer development.   The preclinical findings suggest that appropriately targeting these unique CAF populations may offer strategies to improve the use of other treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.   “Cancer-associated fibroblasts are known to regulate cancer progression, but targeting these cells in pancreatic cancer has largely...