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How Immune Cells Destroy Cancer Cells – MDC Researchers Elucidate Mechanism

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:00:00 GMT

In the treatment of large tumors, how effective is adoptive T cell therapy in comparison to drug-based cancer treatment? To answer this question, Dr. Kathleen Anders and Professor Thomas Blankenstein of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and researchers of the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California, USA designed and carried out a study comparing the two methods. Based on a mouse cancer model, the researchers elucidated the mechanisms of the two different treatments. The researchers showed that both forms of therapy are highly effective against large tumors. However, the T cells not only kill cancer cells – they additionally destroy the tumor blood vessel system, thus impeding the supply of nutrients to the tumor. Consequently, quasi as a side effect, “escapee” mutant tumor cells are eradicated that have become resistant to drug-based treatment and are responsible for tumor recurrence. The researchers hope that their insights in defining optimal conditions for T cell therapy may help improve future clinical trials and thus the treatment of cancer patients (Cancer Cell, doi10.1016/j.ccr.2011.10.019)*.

Rapid Diagnosis of Acute Kidney Injury – New Biomarkers Tested

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:00:00 GMT

How does a doctor determine whether or not an emergency-room patient has acute kidney injury? Using tests currently available in the hospital, this question is often difficult to answer. In many emergency cases, however, early diagnosis of the severity of the disease picture is crucial. A large multicenter study by clinicians of the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint cooperation between the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Helios Hospital Berlin, and two hospitals in the U.S. has now shown that a urine test for proteins excreted by a damaged kidney helps to swiftly identify high-risk patients (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, online, 9. January 2012)*.

MDC Researchers: Ion Channel Makes African Naked Mole-Rat Insensitive to Acid-Induced Pain

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:00:00 GMT

Researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have found out why the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), one of the world’s most unusual mammals, feels no pain when exposed to acid. African naked mole-rats live densely packed in narrow dark burrows where ambient carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels are very high. In body tissues, CO₂ is converted into acid, which continuously activates pain sensors. However, naked mole-rats are an exception: they have an altered ion channel in their pain receptors that is inactivated by acid and makes the animals insensitive to this type of pain. Dr. Ewan St. John Smith and Professor Gary Lewin conclude that this pain insensitivity is due to the African mole-rats’ adaptation to their extreme habitat over the course of evolution (Science , Vol. 334, Dec.16, 2011, 1557-1560)*.