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Most skin cancer drugs that activate the immune system work by triggering immune cells, called T cells, to attack tumors, but when T cells are activated for too long, they can wear out and cease to function.
Credit: The Wistar Institute
PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 12, 2021) Scientists at The Wistar Institute have created an advanced humanized immune system mouse model that allows them to examine resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapies in melanoma. It has revealed a central role for mast cells. These findings were published today in the journal
Nature Communications.
Checkpoint inhibitors revolutionized therapeutic options for advanced melanoma. However, only a fraction of patients respond to this treatment and some relapse due to reemergence of therapy-resistant lesions. To better understand why some cancers do not respond or become resistant to checkpoint therapies, we need more preclinical models that mimic the human tumor immune environment, said Rajasekharan Somasundaram, Ph.D., a member of The Wistar Institute Melanoma Research Center, who is the first and corresponding author of the paper.
Credit: The Wistar Institute
PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 23, 2020) Wistar Institute scientists have discovered a new class of compounds that uniquely combine direct antibiotic killing of pan drug-resistant bacterial pathogens with a simultaneous rapid immune response for combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These finding were published today in
Nature.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats against humanity. It is estimated that by 2050, antibiotic-resistant infections could claim 10 million lives each year and impose a cumulative $100 trillion burden on the global economy. The list of bacteria that are becoming resistant to treatment with all available antibiotic options is growing and few new drugs are in the pipeline, creating a pressing need for new classes of antibiotics to prevent public health crises.