Research Highlights

Scientists have created a new zebrafish xenograft platform to screen for novel treatments for an aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma, according to a new study by the Gerhardt and De Smet labs published in “EMBO Molecular Medicine.”

Bartter syndrome type 3 is the result of several structural variants in the genome. By using long-read sequencing, Janine Altmüller and her team from the Max Delbrück Center, the BIH and University Hospital Cologne mapped out the rare disease in unprecedented detail. They have now reported their findings in “Genome Medicine.”

Using single-cell technologies, Maike Sander and colleagues have observed a shift in the relative abundance of the two subtypes of pancreatic beta cells as type 2 diabetes unfolds. This knowledge could be leveraged to find novel drugs, they report in “Nature Genetics.”

The Arl8b protein provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease. It also has the potential to function as a diagnostic marker. The scientists behind this discovery, a team led by Erich Wanker from the Max Delbrück Center, have published their findings in “Genome Medicine”.

RNA molecules travel long distances through nerve cells. To reach their destination, they need one thing more than any other – a long life – as a research team led by Marina Chekulaeva from MDC-BIMSB reports in the journal “Molecular Cell.”

Some T cells of the immune system are especially sensitive to genetic disturbances within their mitochondrial power plants. Scientists from BIH and Max Delbrück Center have now published their findings in the journal “Nature Genetics”.

The intestine has a complex anatomical structure that includes “crypts.” Researchers led by Michael Sigal have now reconstructed these glands. In “Nature Communications”, they describe how the cells communicate with each other and how people with gut disorders could benefit from their findings.

The herpes simplex virus-1 can sometimes cause a dangerous brain infection. Combining an anti-inflammatory and an antiviral could help in these cases, report scientists with the Rajewsky and Landthaler labs and the Organoid Platform at the Max Delbrück Center in “Nature Microbiology.”

A new tool can identify cells that are actively responding to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. As reported in "Science Advances" by the Gargiulo lab, it can be used to screen for effective COVID-19 therapies and can be tailored to study other viruses as well.

Genome Architecture Mapping captures complex, multi-way interactions in the genome. This is different than the workhorse technique of 3D genomics, which sees mostly two-way contacts, finds a new study by a team led by Ana Pombo from the Max Delbrück Center, published in “Nature Methods”.