Category: Research Briefs

Scientists in the laboratory of Navdeep Chandel, PhD, the David W. Cugell, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, have discovered how mitochondria influence the body’s immune response through modulating specific cell signaling pathways, according to a recent study published in Science Advances.

A new Northwestern Medicine study suggests a promising alternative to current approaches to Alzheimer’s disease: enhancing the brain’s own immune cells to clear amyloid plaques more effectively.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified novel mechanisms regulating the development of the spinal column during embryonic development, findings that could inform new treatments for congenital scoliosis and other related birth defects, according to a recent study published in Nature Communications.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered how disruptions in circadian rhythm in our muscles combined with poor diet can contribute to the development of diabetes, according to a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have developed a new avenue to reprogram compromised immune cells to act against tumors, according to a study published in Science Advances.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered new intracellular mechanisms that help specialized immune cells adapt and respond to disease and acute inflammation, findings that may inform the development of targeted therapies for cancer and tissue injury, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

In two new studies led by bacteriologist Brandon L. Jutras, Northwestern scientists have identified an antibiotic that cures Lyme disease at a fraction of the dosage of the current “gold standard” treatment and discovered what may cause a treated infection to mimic chronic illness in patients.

Northwestern Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital scientists have discovered a molecular defect that promotes the pathologic immune response in systemic lupus erythematosus (known as lupus) and in a study published in Nature, show that reversing this defect may potentially reverse the disease.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered that uterine serous carcinoma tumors in Black patients express more aggressive and immunosuppressive features than tumors in white patients, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An international team of investigators have discovered that non-neuron brain cells called oligodendrocytes contribute to approximately one-third of plaque formation alongside that produced by neurons in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study published in Nature Neuroscience.