Breast milk antibodies show promise against multiple respiratory viruses - News-Medical

Credit: FatCamera / Getty Images Children who develop cancer produce an unusually high number of antibodies that attack DNA repair machinery, new research suggests. The findings, published in Frontiers in Immunology, could help lead to early screening that prevents cancer from developing later on, during adolescence. The pathogenic, penetrating autoantibodies, which can cross over into cells, predominantly targeted six proteins involved in DNA repair. They may represent a previously unrecognized mechanism through which people are predisposed to cancer at a young age.

Biophysical model of the origin and evolution of HK97-fold compartments. Researchers at the University of Miami have identified a group of previously unknown viruses that bridge an evolutionary gap between viruses and cellular protein compartments, a discovery with implications for both biotechnology and scientists' understanding of the origins of life. The findings, published in Nature Communications, challenge the theory that these cellular compartments, called encapsulins, simply evolved from viruses. Instead, the researchers found evidence that viruses and encapsulins evolved from one another repeatedly over millions of years.

Viruses that attack and kill bacteria—called phages—are an important evolving therapy to fight dangerous infections. Research found an important bacterial defense against phages.

Researchers have found the first evidence for a previously unsuspected cause of pediatric cancer. They showed that children with such cancers were more likely than their healthy peers to produce ‘auto-antibodies’ targeting six proteins necessary for normal DNA repair. Likewise, they showed that young adults with cancer had greater amounts of these circulating antibodies already years before diagnosis. Tests confirmed that such antibodies can enter the cell during division, where they seem to locate to the TIGER domain implicated in translation and bind their antigens there. The latter result immediately suggests a likely mechanism for the etiology of cancer through the immobilization of DNA repair proteins. A team of scientists in Norway has found evidence for a new, previously unknown mechanism for the development of cancer in children: they seem to produce an unusual amount of aberrant antibodies against the building blocks that make up the DNA repair machinery, a diverse set of hundreds of proteins which identify and correct damage or errors in the genome.

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) could transform diabetes management for millions of Americans with type 2 diabetes who don't take insulin, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The clinical trial found that adults using CGMs spent approximately five additional hours each day within their target blood sugar range compared with those receiving routine care. Nearly twice as many CGM users also achieved an A1c level below 7%, a common treatment goal for people with diabetes.