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Penn Medicine: Gene Therapy Shows Protection in Animal Models to Flu Strains
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania have developed a new gene therapy to thwart a potential influenza pandemic.
Penn Study Shows How Immune System Peacefully Co-exists with 'Good' Bacteria
The human gut is loaded with commensal bacteria – “good” microbes that, among other functions, help the body digest food. The gastrointestinal tract contains literally trillions of such cells, and yet the immune system seemingly turns a blind eye.
Newly Described Type of Immune Cell and T cells Share Similar Path to Maturity, According to New Penn Study
Labs around the world, and a core group at Penn, have been studying recently described populations of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Some researchers liken them to foot soldiers that protect boundary tissues such as the skin, the lining of the lung, and the lining of the gut from microbial onslaught.
Penn Researchers Discover Link Between Inherited Endocrine Tumor Syndrome and Well Studied Cell Pathway
A mutation in a protein called menin causes a hereditary cancer syndrome called MEN1 (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1). Individuals with MEN1 are at a substantially increased risk of developing neuroendocrine tumors, including cancer of the pancreatic islet cells that secrete insulin.
Penn Study: How the Body's Energy Molecule Transmits Three Types of Taste
Saying that the sense of taste is complicated is an understatement, that it is little understood, even more so. Exactly how cells transmit taste information to the brain for three out of the five primary taste types was pretty much a mystery, until now.
Penn Medicine: Adding to the List of Disease-Causing Proteins in Brain Disorders
PHILADELPHIA — A multi-institution group of researchers has found new candidate disease proteins for neurodegenerative disorders. James Shorter, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Paul Taylor, M.D., PhD, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and colleagues describe in an advanced online publication of Nature that mutations in prion-like segments of two RNA-binding proteins are associated with a rare inherited degeneration disorder affecting muscle, brain, motor neurons and bone (called multisystem proteinopathy) and one case of the familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Penn Medicine: Tweaking Gene Expression to Repair Lungs
PHILADELPHIA — Lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are on the rise, according to the American Lung Association and the National Institutes of Health.
Penn Study: Itching for New Help for Eczema: Recently Identified Immune Cells Possible Therapeutic Target
PHILADELPHIA — The increasing incidence of allergic skin diseases, and the accompanying economic burden and heightened risk of developing other allergic conditions, have spurred researchers to look for better ways to control these immune system-based disorders.
Penn Study: Transmission of Tangles in Alzheimer's Mice Provides More Authentic Model of Tau Pathology
PHILADELPHIA — Brain diseases associated with the misformed protein tau, including Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau pathologies, are characterized by neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) comprised of pathological tau filaments.
Penn Study Details Dimmer Switch for Regulating Cell's Read of DNA Code
PHILADELPHIA — Epigenetics - the science of how gene activity can be altered without changes in the genetic code - plays a critical role in every aspect of life, from the differentiation of stem cells to the regulation of metabolism and growth of cancer cells.