Growth factors are critical to many aspects of cell culture including proliferation, differentiation and maintenance. Whilst the effects of insufficient growth factor, such as lack of proliferation, are readily apparent, the effects of adding too much growth factor can be less apparent but equally important.
Low-level chronic inflammation is a hallmark of ageing. A recent article in Nature suggests the goals of longevity research to increase healthspan, as well as lifespan, may be achieved by simply inhibiting an inflammatory cytokine.
It is important to understand that there is a big difference between in vivo and in vitro stability of growth factors. In-vivo, growth factor half-lives can be just a few minutes. But the same growth factors have in-vitro half-lives of a few hours. What causes this?
As well as actual, canonical time marked by ticking of a clock, time can be marked by events. Pseudotime and canonical expression time are concepts used in the study of gene expression dynamics, particularly in the context of developmental biology and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).
The delivery of protein drugs to metastatic tumors is fraught with obstacles that limit their efficacy. This article explores the barriers to the delivery of protein drugs to metastatic cancer and discusses strategies to overcome these challenges.
One of the most significant hurdles in combating metastatic cancer is the delivery of protein drugs to the affected sites. The cancer cells fortify themselves behind endothelial barriers and extracellular matrix, making it difficult for therapeutic agents to reach and destroy them. Employing phagocytic immune cells as Trojan horses to overcome these barriers has immense potential.
The efficacy of chemokines and cytokines can vary depending on the type of cancer and the individual immune response of each pateint. However, some cytokines and chemokines stand out for their promise in cancer immunotherapy based on their roles in modulating the immune response. The following is a brief summary of some of these. They are listed in rough order of their relative importance.
Adoptive T cell therapies such as CAR-T cells have proven effective in treating some leukemias but have struggled to be useful in solid tumours. A recent study reported in PNAS explores a way of easily functionalizing adoptive cells so that they become decorated with a cytokine of choice. In the melanoma mouse model tested, this approach led to significantly improved efficacy.
In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in exploring new applications of growth factors and cytokines in various fields, such as regenerative medicine, cancer therapy, and tissue engineering. Awarded grant proposals provides an insight into the ongoing development of novel applications
Organ transplantation is a life-saving procedure for patients with end-stage organ failure. However, one of the major challenges in transplantation is the immune-mediated rejection of the transplanted organ by the recipient's immune system. Cytokines, a group of small proteins secreted by immune cells, play a crucial role in the immune response and are involved in the process of organ rejection.
