Category: Wellness Studies

Scientists recently infected the first human liver-on-a-chip model with hepatitis B and unraveled biological and immune responses to the virus similar to that found in real human livers.

This 3-D human-based model reproduced the viral infection at infection doses similar to that found in humans. Because it is physiologically relevant to humans, (vs animals), it is likely to reduce the time and cost traditionally required for drug development for hepatitis B.

Ortega-Prieto AM, Skelton JK, Wai SN, et al. 3D microfluidic liver cultures as a physiological preclinical tool for hepatitis B virus infection. Nat Commun. 2018;9:682. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02969-8.

Biomedical engineers recently created a miniature device composed of blood vessels, a valve that induces a “wound,” and the flow of blood to recapitulate the wound healing process seen during injury in humans. They used the human-based system to understand the role of several key-clotting factors for blood clot formation.

The system helped the scientists to determine the defects causing excessive bleeding in hemophilia-A patients, as well as, to assess the specific effects of blood clotting drugs. Thus, the model can be used:1. as a screening tool for drugs to modulate human wound healing, 2. a diagnostic tool to identify patients with bleeding disorders, and 3. a personalized medicine tool to determine the optimal individualized drug treatments to modulate clotting.

Unlike previous models which only simulate one aspect of the wound healing process, this system reproduces all components of the human small blood vessel injury and repair process.

 

Sakurai Y, Hardy ET, Ahn B, et al. A microengineered vascularized bleeding model that integrates the principal components of hemostasis. Nat Commun. 2018;9:509. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02990-x.

Virtual Brain:

Researchers used a brain modeling platform called The Virtual Brain to incorporate individual patient brain measurements to produce personalized models simulating six features of patient brain activity. The tool allowed the researchers to assess the neuron interactions involved, which cannot be directly measured in humans, and enables the data from patient’s brain signals to predict neuronal network interactions.

This method advances personalized medicine by producing individualized models that can be used to optimize brain surgical procedures to improve outcomes prior to execution. It can also be used to uncover individual differences in brain networks and functions as well as underlying mechanisms of brain disorders.

Improving Research: Unlike other computational models, this mathematical platform can incorporate real-time human data to make better predictions about brain processes relevant to each individual patient and with greater resolution than previous attempts in invasive animal studies.

 

Schirner M, McIntosh AR, Jirsa V, Deco G, Ritter P. Inferring multi-scale neural mechanisms with brain network modelling. Elife. 2018;7. doi: 10.7554/eLife.28927.

 

 

Diabetes prevention is a possibility, if not a probability.

A plant-based diet improves beta-cell function, according to a study published in Nutrients.

Researchers from the Physicians Committee assessed insulin resistance after a meal for 75 overweight participants without diabetes for 16 weeks, half of whom followed a low-fat, vegan (plant based) diet. Those who consumed the vegan diet increased meal-stimulated insulin secretion and beta-cell glucose sensitivity and lowered their body weight, compared with the control group. Lower body fat increases beta-cells’ ability to regulate blood sugar. These results show that a vegan dietary intervention helps prevent diabetes.

Kahleova H, Tura A, Hill M, Holubkov R, Barnard ND. A plant-based dietary intervention improves beta-cell function and insulin resistance in overweight adults. A 16-week randomized clinical trial. Nutrients. Published online February 9, 2018.

According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers compared cancer incidence rates for 48,835 postmenopausal women assigned to either a low-fat diet, in which fat intake was limited to 20 percent of daily energy, and daily servings of fruits, vegetables, and grains were increased to those in a control group.

Those in the intervention group had fewer cases of pancreatic cancer, compared with the control group. The authors observed more pronounced reductions in cancer risk for intervention participants with higher BMIs.

Researchers suspect increased phytochemical intake, weight reduction, and improvements in insulin resistance, inflammation, and immunity as possible mechanisms for the preventive effect of the low-fat diet.

Jiao L, Chen L, White DL, et al. Low-fat dietary pattern and pancreatic cancer risk in the Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Randomized Controlled Trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2018;110:49-56.

Using a new technique called “in-air microfluidics,” scientists succeeded in printing 3-D structures with live cells. By shooting a jet stream of fluid into another jet stream of cells, in-air microfluidics allows partially solidified droplets of live cells to be created in-flight and deposited onto a substrate to build a 3-D structure filled with cells and fluid that recapitulates the structure of natural tissues.

Unlike other 3-D printing techniques, which use ultraviolet light or heat that can damage living cells, this new tissue engineering technique does not harm cells. Therefore, it may be possible one day to use it to repair damaged tissues in patients using their own cultured cells.

Where microfluidic technology requires the use of chips with tiny channel which can impede the flow of fluid and limit clinical and industrial applications of 3-D bioprinting, this new chip-free platform reduces the production time by 10- to 100-fold and allows for the reaction of different combinations of fluids to create various biological building blocks in a single step.

Visser CW, Kamperman T, Karbaat LF, Lohse D, Karperien M. In-air microfluidics enables rapid fabrication of emulsions, suspensions, and 3D modular (bio)materials. Sci Adv. 2018;4:eaao1175. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aao1175.

Using gastric cancer biopsies from 77 patients, scientists recently identified a panel of proteins (BRF1, BRCA1/2, and MPO) induced by alcohol consumption that can predict the recurrence of the cancer, the overall survival, and the response to platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

The biomarkers discovered in this study can help alcoholic patients with gastric cancers choose the best treatment (surgery versus chemotherapy) for their cancer and understand the detrimental effects of alcohol on their survival.

By using biological samples from humans, the investigators of this study found human-relevant results that can be directly translated to clinical applications.

Zhang Y, Wu H, Yang F, et al. Prognostic value of the expression of DNA repair-related biomarkers mediated by alcohol in gastric cancer patients. Am J Pathol.2018;pii: S0002-9440:30741-1. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2017.10.010.

Using human stem cells from the umbilical cord or bone marrow, scientists have discovered a way to make heart vessel lining cells that are capable of growing in a healthy state, as well as converting to a disease-prone state called the mesenchymal transition.

The new mesenchymal arterial cells derived by this method can serve as a cellular, human-relevant model of many heart conditions, such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, and congenital heart abnormalities. Hence, it can help scientists better understand these disease processes in humans as well as develop new drugs or strategies to treat them.

Prior to this study, scientists have had a very challenging time growing these cells for research and relied on using cadavers or animals to obtain mesenchymal cells to study these human heart pathologies. This breakthrough provides scientists with a reliable source of human cells.

Miller AZ, Satchie A, Tannenbaum AP, Nihal A, Thomson JA, Vereide DT. Expandable arterial endothelial precursors from human CD34 cells differ in their proclivity to undergo an endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Stem Cell Reports. 2018;10:73-86. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.12.011.

 

 

 

 

Inflammatory foods, such as red and processed meats, play a role in colorectal cancer development, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology. Researchers followed 121,050 participants over 26 years and rated their diets for their inflammatory potential.

Pro-inflammatory products included processed meats, red meat, organ meats, and sodas. Men and women who consumed the most of these products were 44 and 22 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer, respectively, compared with those who consumed the least. These findings highlight the importance of diet in cancer development. The authors suggest clinicians focus on interventions to lower inflammation as a preventive measure for colorectal cancer.

Tabung FK, Liu L, Wang W, et al. Association of dietary inflammatory potential with colorectal cancer risk in men and women. JAMA Oncol. Published online January 18, 2018.

According to the European Journal of Cancer, processed meat consumption increases risk for breast cancer.

Researchers reviewed meat consumption and cancer incidence rates for 262,195 women from the UK Biobank over a 7-year period. Those who consumed the most processed meats per day (an average of 20.2 grams per day or less than half the size of a regular hog dog) increased their risk by 21 percent, compared with those who consumed the least. In this study, processed meat was defined as bacon, ham, sausages, meat pies, kebabs, burgers, and chicken nuggets.

The authors also conducted a meta-analysis of 11 studies and found overall cancer risk and post-menopausal cancer risk increased with processed meat consumption. Possible mechanisms include heme iron, nitrates and nitrites, and heterocyclic amines found in processed meats. This study adds to accumulating evidence on the relationship between processed meats and breast cancer.

Anderson JJ, Darwis NDM, Mackay DF, et al. Red and processed meat consumption and breast cancer: UK Biobank cohort study and meta-analysis. Eur J Cancer. 2017;90:73-82.

World Cancer Research Fund International Continuous Update Project (CUP). The associations between food, nutrition and physical activity and the risk of breast cancer. Syst Lit Rev. 2015. Available at: http://www.wcrf.org/sites/default/files/CUP_breast_cancer_SLR_2015_version5.pdfAccessed January 10, 2018.