Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more

Vikas Sukhatme

Anti-inflammatory approach suppresses cancer metastasis in animal models

An anti-inflammatory drug called ketorolac, given before surgery, can promote long-term survival in animal models of cancer metastasis, a team of scientists has found. The research suggests that flanking chemotherapy with ketorolac or similar drugs — an approach that is distinct from previous anti-inflammatory cancer prevention efforts — can unleash anti-tumor immunity.

The findings, published in Journal of Clinical Investigation, also provide a mechanistic explanation for the anti-metastatic effects of ketorolac, previously observed in human breast cancer surgery.

Medical writer Ralph Moss has a great summary of this background. A commentary accompanying the JCI paper concludes: ” If this can be translated from mouse models into the clinic, then it could revolutionize treatments.”

Vikas P. Sukhatme, MD, ScD, dean of Emory University School of Medicine, is senior author of the JCI paper. He was previously at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, with lead authors Dipak Panigrahy, MD and Allison Gartung, PhD.

“Collectively, our findings suggest a potential paradigm shift in our approach to resectable cancers,” says Sukhatme. “Clinical trials are now urgently needed to validate these animal studies.”

Most cancer-related deaths come from metastases, the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumor to surrounding tissues or distant organs. The cells that seed metastases are often in microscopic clusters – a surgeon can’t see them. Chemotherapy, typically given after or prior to surgery is aimed at eradicating these cancer cells in the hopes of preventing cancer recurrence.  However, chemotherapy can sometimes stir up inflammation, promoting metastasis.

“Cancer therapy is a double-edged sword,” says Panigrahy. “Surgery and chemotherapy can induce an inflammatory or immunosuppressive injury response that promotes dormant metastatic cells to start proliferating, leading to tumor recurrence.”

Ketorolac is an inexpensive NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug). Because of concern over side effects, it is only approved by the FDA for short-term pain management “at the opioid level.” It differs from other NSAIDs in that it preferentially inhibits the enzyme COX-1, more than COX-2. Other studies of prevention of cancer recurrence have focused on COX-2 inhibitors. Read more

Posted on by Quinn Eastman in Cancer Leave a comment

I3 Venture awards info

Emory is full of fledgling biomedical proto-companies. Some of them are actual corporations with employees, while others are ideas that need a push to get them to that point. Along with the companies highlighted by the Emory Biotech Consulting Club, Dean Sukhatme’s recent announcement of five I3 Venture research awards gives more examples of early stage research projects with commercial potential.

This is the third round of the I3 awards; the first two were Wow! (basic discovery) and Synergy II/Nexus (promoting interdisciplinary collaboration). For the five Venture awards, the Dean’s office is providing a total of $100,000. The companies will then use the momentum to seek larger amounts of funding from various sources. Lab Land is still collecting information on the projects:

 

Faculty Name Technology Relevant links
Ray Dingledine + Thota Ganesh Pyrefin EP2 receptor antagonists vs epilepsy, pain, inflammation New class of potential drugs inhibits inflammation in brain
Mark Goodman, W. Robert Taylor Microbial Medical PET imaging agent for detection of bacterial infections Spoonful of sugar helps infection detection
Carlos Moreno + Christian Larsen ResonanceDx Miniaturized rapid creatinine test for point of care use  
Edmund Waller + Taofeek Owonikoko Cambium Oncology Enhancing responsiveness of pancreatic cancer to immunotherapy The Company’s lead compound was effective in animal studies for pancreatic cancer, melanoma, leukemia and lymphoma.
Chunhui Xu TK High-throughput screening for antiarrhythmic drugs using cardiomyocytes Fetal alcohol toxicity – in a dish // Cardiac ‘disease in a dish’ models advance arrhythmia research
Posted on by Quinn Eastman in Cancer, Immunology, Neuro Leave a comment