Small protein protects pancreatic cells in model of type 1 diabetes
A new study has shown that treating type 1 diabetes-prone mice with the small protein MOTS-c prevented the immune system from destroying insulin-producing pancreatic cells, effectively preventing the onset of the autoimmune disease. The small protein that first made headlines as an “exercise mimetic” increasingly appears to also have a big role in regulating the […]
Fasting may help ward off infections, study in mice suggests
Fasting before and during exposure to Salmonella enterica bacteria protects mice from developing a full-blown infection, in part due to changes in the animals’ gut microbiomes,according to new research published in PLOS Pathogens by Bruce Vallance and colleagues at University of British Columbia, Canada. When people or animals develop an infection, they often lose their […]
Mice treated with this cytokine lose weight by ‘sweating’ fat
Treating obese mice with the cytokine known as TSLP led to significant abdominal fat and weight loss compared to controls, according to new research published Thursday in Science from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Unexpectedly, the fat loss was notassociated with decreased food intake or faster metabolism. Instead, […]
New understanding of cell stability with potential to improve immune cell therapies: Findings highlight pathway to remove unstable cells
Research in mice, published today in Science Immunology by researchers at the Babraham Institute, UK and VIB-KU Leuven, Belgium, provides two solutions with potential to overcome a key clinical limitation of immune cell therapies. Regulatory T cells have potential in treating autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases yet they can switch from a protective to damaging function. […]
Differences in human, mouse brain cells have important implications for disease research
A UCLA-led study comparing brain cells known as astrocytes in humans and mice found that mouse astrocytes are more resilient to oxidative stress, a damaging imbalance that is a mechanism behind many neurological disorders. A lack of oxygen triggers molecular repair mechanisms in these mouse astrocytes but not in human astrocytes. In contrast, inflammation activates […]