Cancer Immunotherapy Tops AAAS and Science's Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2013

Science, the peer-reviewed general-science journal, and its publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) released their annual list of groundbreaking scientific achievements for 2013.

Number one on the list is the study on cancer immunotherapy.

The editors of Science believe that the strong promise that cancer immunotherapy brings in treating and combating the deadly disease is worthy enough to get the top spot in 2014's most important science breakthrough.

Last year, the discovery of the Higgs Particle was chosen as the scientific breakthrough of the Year for 2012.

Immunotherapy involves inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response to combat a disease. There are two ways; Activation and Suppression. Activation Immunotherapy is designed to elicit or amplify the immune system to respond to the disease. Suppression Immunotherapy reduces or suppresses the disease.

Some of the other breakthroughs in the list include:

• CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat) which is a gene editing technique that is used it to manipulate the genomes of various plant, animal and human cells.
• A new type of solar-cell materials called Perovskite solar cells which are cheaper and easier to produce than those in traditional silicon cells.
• The discovery that cosmic rays come from supernova remnants

The full top ten scientific breakthroughs for 2013 are listed below.

Psychoneuroimmunology - The Link Between Loneliness, Stress and The Immune System

A Recent study in psychoneuroimmunology has shown that there is a link between loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses. The study suggests that being lonely can be harmful to ones health and well-being.

Psychoneuroimmunology or Psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI) is the study of the relationship between psychological activity and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. It integrates psychology, neurology, sociology, endocrinology and immunology and how these factors influence the immune system. Some studies even suggest that these changes affect the body at the molecular level.

PNI focuses mainly on the interactions of the nervous and immune system and the relationships between mental processes and health. Basically, PNI studies the relationip of how people think and feel and how it has a direct effect on how the immune systems function. It looks at the connection between behavior and health and tries to translate this into clinically relevant health applications.

The term, Psychoneuroimmunology or Psycho-neuro-immunology, was first used by Robert Ader and Nicholas Cohen at the University of Rochester in 1975. They conducted an experiment that showed that the nervous system can affect the immune system.

White Blood Cells Called Neutrophils May Lead To New Treatment of Diabetes

This is a false-colored, scanning electron micrograph of a neutrophil.
Credit: UC San Diego School of Medicine

White blood cells are cells of the body's immune system involved in defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. 50% to 70% of these white blood cells are Neutrophils.

Neutrophils are phagocytic. They have the ability to ingest other cells. Whenever there is an infection or a foreign material introduced to the body, neutrophils are the first of the immune cells to arrive at the area of infection.

Neutrophils have an average life span of five days although inactive neutrophils live for only four to ten hours. These cells die upon ingesting a pathogen. They are abundant and are responsible for the bulk of an immune response.

They are the main component of pus and is the reason why pus has its whitish color. They are present in the bloodstream until signaled to a site of infection by chemical cues in the body. They are fast acting and arrive at the site of infection within an hour.

Before ingesting invasive bacteria, neutrophils can release a net of fibers called a neutrophil extracellular trap (NET), which serves to trap and kill microbes outside of the cell. When neutrophils ingest microbes, they release a number of proteins in primary, secondary, and tertiary granules that help kill the bacteria. They also release superoxide, which becomes converted into hypochlorous acid, or chlorine bleach, which is theorized to play a part in killing microbes as well.


White blood cells mediate insulin resistance

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say neutrophils, an abundant type of white blood cell typically tasked with attacking bacteria and other foreign invaders, also plays an unexpected role in mediating insulin resistance – the central characteristic of type 2 diabetes, which afflicts an estimated 26 million Americans.

The findings are published in the August 5, 2012 Advance Online Publication of Nature Medicine.

Neutrophils are the first immune cells to respond to tissue inflammation, and can promote chronic inflammation by summoning other white blood cells called macrophages. Chronic low-grade inflammation – common in adipose or fat tissue – is an important cause of systemic insulin resistance.

Cancer Treatment Utilizing PD-1/PD-L1 Pathway Boosting Immune System Pathway Ready For Wider Testing

Immunotherapy is a treatment of a disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response. There are two ways to immunotherapy; Activation and Suppression. Activation Immunotherapy is designed to elicit or amplify the immune system to respond to the disease. Suppression Immunotherapy reduces or suppresses the disease.

Studies and experiments into using the immune system to attack and reject cancer cells have long been underway. The main premise of the process is to stimulate the immune system to attack the malignant tumor cells that are responsible for the disease through immunization (cancer vaccine) or through administration of drugs (therapeutic antibodies). Development in this field has been slow but during that time, much has been learned about the immune system. Coupled with new discoveries in medicine, cancer immunotherapy may be possible within a few decades.

Another field of immunotherapy is cell based immunotherapy. This involves immune cells such as the Natural killer Cells (NK cells), Lymphokine Activated killer cell(LAK), Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes(CTLs), Dendritic Cells (DC), etc., which are either activated in vivo by administering certain cytokines such as Interleukins or they are isolated, enriched and transfused to the patient to fight against cancer.

Cancer therapy that boosts immune system ready for wider testing

Two clinical trials led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers in collaboration with other medical centers, testing experimental drugs aimed at restoring the immune system's ability to spot and attack cancer, have shown promising early results in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, and kidney cancer. More than 500 patients were treated in the studies of two drugs that target the same immune-suppressive pathway, and the investigators say there is enough evidence to support wider testing in larger groups of patients.

Results of the Phase I clinical trials will be published online June 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Abstracts #2509 and #2510).

Lymphoma Therapy Targeting CD19 Protein May Reduce Risk of Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocites. Lymphocites are the main part of the immune system. These circulate in blood vessels, lymph nodes and other network of vessels in the body.

Lymphocites enter the blood and tissues to respond to bacteria and viruses that attack the body.

When these lymphocites grow and develop uncontrollably into tumors, lymphoma develops. These tumors start to crowd out healthy tissue and organs .

Lymphoma therapy could deliver a double punch

B cell lymphomas are a group of cancers of that originate in lymphoid tissue from B cells, the specialized immune cell type that produces antibodies. The development of B cell lymphoma is associated with several known genetic changes, including increased expression of MYC, a transcription factor that promotes cell growth and division.

Findings Show Breastfeeding Beneficial to Infant's Immune System, Intestinal Stability, and Healthy Gut

Alveoli are cells inside the breast that makes milk. When a woman's breast becomes full and tender during pregnancy, it is a sign that the alveoli are getting ready to work.

These changes in the breast are sometimes not felt by the woman until the baby is born.

The alveoli make milk in response to the hormone prolactin. The levels of prolactin rises when the baby suckles.

Aside from this, oxytocin (another hormone), causes small muscles around the cells to contract. This allows the milk to move through a series of small tubes called milk ducts. This moving of the milk is called let-down reflex.

Oxytocin also causes the muscles of the uterus to contract during and after birth which lets the uterus go back to its original size. Oxytocin also lessens any bleeding a woman may have after giving birth. The release of both prolactin and oxytocin may be responsible in part for a mother’s intense feeling of needing to be with her baby.

Breastfeeding is associated with a healthy infant gut

Early colonization of the gut by microbes in infants is critical for development of their intestinal tract and in immune development. A new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, shows that differences in bacterial colonization of formula-fed and breast-fed babies leads to changes in the infant's expression of genes involved in the immune system, and in defense against pathogens.

The health of individuals can be influenced by the diversity of microbes colonizing the gut, and microbial colonization can be especially important in regulating both intestinal and immune development in infants. However, little is known about the potential interactions between the host's health at a molecular level, their gut microbes, and diet.

MIT News: Mucus - First Line of Defense in Immune Protection

Vertebrates secrete mucus. These are produced from mucous cells found in mucous glands.

It is a viscous colloid (substance microscopically that is evenly dispersed in another substance) that contains antiseptic enzymes such as lysozyme, immunoglobulins, inorganic salts, proteins such as lactoferrin, and glycoproteins.

Mucous cells are rich in glycoproteins. Glycoproteins, also known as mucins, are produced by goblet cells in the mucous membranes and submucosal glands

In the respiratory system, mucus protects the lungs by filtering out foreign particles that enter it. The process usually happens in the nose during normal breathing. "Phlegm" is a specialized term for mucus that is restricted to the respiratory tract, whereas the term "nasal mucus" describes secretions of the nasal passages.

Immune protection from an unexpected source

Mucus often elicits strong revulsion, but to MIT biological engineer Katharina Ribbeck, it is a fascinating material.

“Without it, we wouldn’t be able to smell, we wouldn’t be able to reproduce, and we would all be the victims of pathogens,” says Ribbeck, who studies the antiviral properties of mucins, the main component of mucus.

Mucus, which coats wet surfaces in the bodies of all animals, is the body’s first line of defense. It allows nutrients, other vital molecules and sperm to enter, but keeps out pathogens such as certain dangerous viruses and bacteria. Ribbeck, the Eugene Bell Career Development Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering, is trying to figure out how mucus achieves this selectivity. Of particular interest is the role of mucins, the major building blocks of mucus.

“Oftentimes they’re regarded as inert scaffold elements, but the picture that is emerging is that they really have an active function in the body’s defense system,” Ribbeck says.

A better understanding of mucins’ immune function could shed light on why certain people are more susceptible to viral or bacterial infections, Ribbeck says. Mucin composition can differ between people, and it also varies depending on factors such as a person’s age, diet and the time of year.

Previous research has shown that mucins — long threadlike proteins with many sugar molecules attached — are abundant in breast milk, protecting infants against viruses such as rotavirus and HIV. To find out if this antiviral role was more general, Ribbeck tested mucins’ ability to block three different viruses from entering cells.

New Cancer Therapy By Boosting Immune System's Natural Killer T Cells

T cells are a sub-group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes and are responsible for cell-mediated immunity. These T-cells have a T cell receptor (TCR) that differentiates it from other lymphocytes. Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a heterogeneous group of T cells that share properties of both T cells and natural killer (NK) cells.

Cancer cells have a property that prevent NKTs from performing its duty. Scientists have found a way to circumvent this and allow natural killer T cells to go ahead and attack cancer cells and other disease causing cells such as HIV.

In a study published in Nature Medicine, Loyola researchers report on a promising new technique that potentially could turn immune system killer T cells into more effective weapons against infections and possibly cancer.

The technique involves delivering DNA into the immune system's instructor cells. The DNA directs these cells to overproduce a specific protein that jumpstarts important killer T cells. These killer cells are typically repressed in patients who have HIV or cancer, said José A. Guevara-Patino, MD, PhD, senior author of the study. Guevara is an Associate Professor in the Oncology Institute of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Guevara and colleagues reported their technique proved effective in jumpstarting defective immune systems in immuno-compromised mice and in human killer T cells taken from people with HIV.

Guevara said a clinical trial in cancer patients could begin in about three years.

The study involved killer cells, known as CD8 T cells, and their instructor cells, known as antigen-presenting cells. The instructor cells instruct CD8 T cells to become killer T cells to kill infected cells or cancer cells -- and to remain vigilant if they reencounter pathogens or if the cancer comes back.

Healthy Crying: Teardrops Contain Lysozyme That Destroys Bacteria

A disease-fighting protein in our teardrops has been tethered to a tiny transistor, enabling UC Irvine scientists to discover exactly how it destroys dangerous bacteria. The research could prove critical to long-term work aimed at diagnosing cancers and other illnesses in their very early stages.

Ever since Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming found that human tears contain antiseptic proteins called lysozymes in 1922, scientists have tried to solve the mystery of how they could relentlessly wipe out far larger bacteria. It turns out that lysozymes have jaws that latch on and chomp through rows of cell walls like someone hungrily devouring an ear of corn, according to findings that will be published Jan. 20 in the journal Science.

Lysozyme is an enzyme found in egg white, tears, and other secretions. It is responsible for breaking down the polysaccharide walls of many kinds of bacteria and thus it provides some protection against infection.

"Those jaws chew apart the walls of the bacteria that are trying to get into your eyes and infect them," said molecular biologist and chemistry professor Gregory Weiss, who co-led the project with associate professor of physics & astronomy Philip Collins.

The researchers decoded the protein's behavior by building one of the world's smallest transistors – 25 times smaller than similar circuitry in laptop computers or smartphones. Individual lysozymes were glued to the live wire, and its eating activities were monitored.