washington university school of medicine

Suppressing Immune System Reverses Untreatable Case of Blood Disease

Treatment with two medications that suppress the immune system, rituximab and cyclophosphamide, appears to have cured one woman of an otherwise untreatable case of the blood disease known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The findings support the theory that TTP is an autoimmune disease, and not only provide insight into diagnosis and treatment, but also reveal clues about blood clotting and autoimmune diseases in general.

Researchers Identify Protein that Kills Cancer Cells

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a protein called cytidine uridine guanosine binding protein-2 (CUGBP2) can destroy several different types of cancer cells. When the team inserted the protein into cultured tumor cells, more than 70 percent self-destructed. The researchers found that CUGBP2 helps regulate production of cyclooxygenase-2, (COX-2), which is better known as a key culprit in arthritis.

Researchers decipher cause of parasite’s worldwide spread

Research reveals that a unique combination of genes inherited less than 10,000 years ago allows the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis to infect virtually all warm-blooded animals. Parasite life cycles are complex and thought to develop over long periods with their hosts. This study reveals that parasites sometimes adapt rapidly to new hosts, indicating that host-parasite relationships may not always represent stable, long-term associations.

Researchers Decipher Cause of Parasite’s Worldwide Spread

Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveals that a unique combination of genes inherited less than 10,000 years ago allows the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis to infect virtually all warm-blooded animals. Parasite life cycles are complex and thought to develop over long periods with their hosts. This study reveals that parasites sometimes adapt rapidly to new hosts, indicating that host-parasite relationships may not always represent stable, long-term associations.

Researchers Identify Key Pathway in the Pupil’s Response to Light

Medical investigators have demonstrated that a particular protein is important for the eye’s pupil to respond to light. The discovery may help scientists learn more about the eye’s role in non-visual functions such as the synchronization of the body’s internal, circadian clock. Reporting in the Jan. 10 issue of the journal Science, the researchers say that mice that lack the two main types of photoreceptor cells in the retina ? rods and cones ? as well as proteins in the retina called cryptochromes, lose about 99 percent of their sensitivity to light.

New Tongue Reconstruction Methods Help Patients with Mouth Cancer

Surgeons have developed new techniques for reconstructing the tongue during surgery for mouth cancer. The researchers found that the new methods often restore a patient’s ability to articulate speech and swallow normal food. The findings are published in the December issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology. “As surgeons, we are most concerned about removing all of the cancer, but we also want to preserve the person’s quality of life,” says lead author Bruce H. Haughey, M.D., associate professor of otolaryngology. “This work strives to improve both.”

Researchers ID protein behind tissue inflammation

Inflammation is usually a normal and beneficial response by the body to tissue injury or infection. But sometimes it can spiral out of control and lead to serious complications and diseases including pulmonary fibrosis, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease. Researchers have uncovered a mechanism that regulates the inflammatory response during tissue repair, providing the first specific molecular targets for developing ways to prevent highly destructive and potentially fatal inflammatory reactions.

Firefly Light Illuminates Course of Herpes Infection in Mice

Researchers are using a herpes virus that produces a firefly enzyme to illuminate the virus’s course of infection in mice and to help monitor the infection’s response to therapy. “This study demonstrates the feasibility of monitoring microbial infections in living animals in real time,” says study leader David A. Leib. “The technique enables us to follow an infection over time as it progresses and resolves, and we can do this repeatedly using the same animal.”

Gut Bacteria Interact with Intestine to Regulate Blood Supply

Bacteria aren’t always bad. In fact, they can be extremely helpful partners. According to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, microbes found naturally in the mouse and human gut interact with intestinal cells, called Paneth cells, to promote the development of blood vessels in the intestinal lining. “This study provides insights into the mutually beneficial partnerships forged between mammals and their native microbes,” says the principal investigator. “These symbiotic relationships probably are most important in the gut, which contains the largest and most complex collection of bacteria.”

New Technique Lets Doctors Examine Milk Ducts for Breast Problems

A new technique enables doctors to directly examine the lining of milk ducts in the breast for early signs of cancer and other abnormalities, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers used the technique, known as ductoscopy, to detect breast abnormalities in women with a condition called pathologic nipple discharge (PND).