SUMMARY A novel mechanism for 5-azacytidine-mediated depletion of RNA 5-methylcytosine on chromatin-associated RNA leading to global transcriptional repression through two epigenetic pathways enabling more precise and effective leukemia treatments The Unmet Need: Optimized 5-azacytidine therapeutic strategies and reliable biomarkers… Read More
SUMMARY Innovative therapeutic strategy leveraging commensal microbiota, specifically by oral administration of Bifidobacterium, to enhance anti-tumor immunity, potentially improving cancer treatment when combined with checkpoint inhibitors Unmet Need: Only 20-40% of patients respond to immunotherapy while a majority… Read More
SUMMARY Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is among the most common types of cancer in the US consisting of a diverse group of lymphocytic malignancies. Most of these malignancies are B-cell of which chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of them. CLL is a demanding disease for patients and early treatment methods have… Read More
SUMMARY Radiotherapy and immunotherapy are used to treat many cancer types, yet only 50% and 20% of patients respond, respectively. Resistance to therapy presents a large problem. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is commonly found in on RNA in eukaryotic cells. By binding to m6A sites, YTHDF2 (YTH N6-Methyladenosine RNA Binding Protein… Read More
SUMMARY Regulatory T cells (Tregs) modulate immune function by preventing autoreactive T cell responses, including those that would normally target cancer cells. Treg activity can significantly limit the efficacy of immunotherapies designed to stimulate CD8+ T cells, and therefore a strategy for reducing Treg activity as an aspect of immunotherapy… Read More
SUMMARY Vaccine efficacy is limited due to the inability to deliver in-tact antigens to antigen presenting (APC) dendritic cells (DCs) while simultaneously activating the cells in a non-toxic fashion. Adjuvants have been used in an attempt to overcome the issues of vaccine efficacy, however they are poorly soluble which results… Read More
SUMMARY Adjuvant radiation therapy post-surgery remains largely ineffective, with just 5% of patients showing a survival benefit. Small molecule JAK inhibitors have shown efficacy in the clinic at treating these patients, yet problematically this approach is plagued by off-target toxicities and eventual development of treatment resistance. The inventors used an… Read More
SUMMARY Current immunotherapy approaches often focus on targeting a single immune checkpoint or suppressive pathway, which can be insufficient given the redundancy and adaptability of tumor-mediated immune evasion. Tumors can compensate for the blockade of one pathway by upregulating alternative suppressive mechanisms, leading to limited efficacy and the persistence of… Read More
SUMMARY Protein palmitoylation is a post translational modification of cystine protein residues, the dysregulation of which is implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancers, and Huntington’s. Despite the importance of palmitoylation, the regulation of the enzymes that control it is poorly understood. The inventors designed an enzyme substrate analogue probe… Read More