AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses

A special issue on progress toward a cure for HIV includes a description of a previously unreported study started in the early 2000s that describes AIDS patients currently ages 51-67 in good health. These nine individuals were treated with a unique formula of traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) from 2001-2006 or longer, with or without occasional antiviral therapy added later. The fact that the patients currently have low or undetectable HIV in their systems is unexpected and intriguing, and suggests a potential promise of TCM as a functional cure for HIV/AIDS, as discussed in a Letter to the Editor in the special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The Letter to the Editor is available open access on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.

Lipid nanoparticles(UPV/EHU)

25 years have passed since the publication of the first work on solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as a system for delivering drugs. So the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics has prepared a special edition for which it asked the PharmaNanoGene group of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country to produce a piece of work reviewing the application of SLNs and NLCs in gene therapy since the group’s significant contributions made in this area have been included in various international scientific publications.

MicroRNA as anti-aging molecule in brain

The older we get, our brain ages. Cognitive abilities decline and the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease or having a stroke steadily increases. A possible cause is the accumulation of iron molecules within neurons, which seems to be valid for all vertebrates. In a collaborative research project within the consortium JenAge, researchers from the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, Germany, and the Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) in Pisa, Italy, found that this iron accumulation is linked to a microRNA called miR-29. This little molecule has so far been known to act as a tumor suppressor, hindering the proliferation of cancer cells. However, clearly, miR-29 also regulates whether or not iron can be deposited in neurons. Using the African fish Nothobranchius furzeri – the shortest-living vertebrate that can be kept under laboratory conditions – the team of Alessandro Cellerino showed a large increase of iron deposits in fish where miR-29 had been suppressed, which led to premature brain aging. In contrast, healthy fish showed the more miR-29 in their neurons, the older they were. Hence, miR-29 acts as a kind of anti-aging molecule during aging, inhibiting the accumulation of iron in neurons.

The geneticist David Vendrami from Bielefeld University is studying ways in which populations of scallops differ. Photo: Bielefeld University

Biologists at Bielefeld University publish analysis

The scallop is one of the largest edible molluscs, and gourmets consider it to be a great delicacy. To meet this demand, the fishing industry cultivates these shellfish in coastal aquafarms. In a new analysis, behavioural ecologists at Bielefeld University have confirmed that cultivated scallops developed their own genetic structure that differs from that of natural scallops. The biologists studied a total of nine populations of scallops (Pecten maximus) along the coast of Northern Ireland. They are presenting their results this Wednesday (8.2.2017) in the research journal ‘Royal Society Open Science’.

Researchers from VIB, UGent, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and several collaborators developed a new antiviral strategy to fight human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children. The approach hinges on the use of single-domain antibodies, also known as Nanobodies®, which target and neutralize a vital protein in the virus, rendering it unable to enter lung cells. The research, published in the leading scientific journal Nature Communications, elucidates how these Nanobodies® interact with and neutralize the virus and demonstrates their ability to successfully protect mice from RSV infection and related inflammation.

The most common genetic cause of the brain diseases frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a mutation in the C9orf72 gene. Researchers from VIB and UAntwerp, headed by Prof. Christine Van Broeckhoven, have demonstrated that if an affected parent passes on this mutation, the children will be affected at a younger age (than the parent). There are no indications that the disease progresses more quickly. These results are published today in the international scientific journal JAMA Neurology.

The newly developed RNAi agent suppressed chronic inflammation in the retinas of diabetic mice. The number of leukocytes (arrows) in the inflamed vasculature was significantly reduced in the RNAi-treated retina (right) comparing to the control experiment (left). (Kanda A. et al., Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acid, January 12, 2017)

Scientists have developed a new RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic agent that safely blocked ocular inflammation in mice, potentially making it a new treatment for human uveitis and diabetic retinopathy. Inflammation plays a central role in vision-threatening eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. More commonly, it causes uveitis, or inflammation of the uvea, the pigmented middle layer of the eye. Uveitis causes redness, pain and blurred vision, requiring urgent treatment to prevent complications, including blindness.

Graphene electronic structure represented by the Dirac cone. Using the metaphor of a sandglass- shaped cocktail glass, the differences in the electronic structures are shown as filling of the glass by a liquid made of electrons. Applying negative voltage is equivalent to drinking, and positive voltage to filling the glass with more liquid (=electrons). The Fermi level is the maximum level where you can find electrons, while the slimmest part of the sandglass is called Dirac point. (Graphics were modified from Freepiks)

Graphene's unusual electronic structure enables this extraordinary material to break many records of strength, electricity and heat conduction. Physicists at the Center for Theoretical Physics of Complex Systems (PCS), in collaboration with the Research Institute for Standards and Science (KRISS), used a model to explain the electronic structure of graphene measured by a new spectroscopic platform. These techniques, published in the journal Nano Letters, could promote future research on stable and accurate quantum measurements for new 2D electronics.

Professor Kjetil Taskén is the head of Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway. He is standing next to a robot that can check different cancer drugs on tissue samles from patients. Photo: Bjarne Roesjoe/UiO

The aim is to identify precisely the one drug, or the correct combination of drugs, that are most effective against the specific tumor present in each patient. Professor hopes that new tools will come into use in the next five years. Modern cancer therapy is like searching two hay stacks simultaneously: for the one, special treatment amongst many – to treat one, special tumor out of many.

Nagoya University-led research identifies role for neuronal protein interaction in preventing frontotemporal lobar degeneration, a dementia that starts in middle age. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a type of dementia characterized by personality changes, language dysfunction, and abnormal behavior. It has an earlier onset than Alzheimer’s disease, and is associated with a buildup of the tau protein in affected nerve cells (neurons).