NEW INSIGHT INTO CELL MIGRATION
It’s normal for cells to move around the body to do their jobs—but when cell migration goes awry, it can lead to chronic inflammation, cancer metastasis, and other disease processes. Stefania Nicoli, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine and genetics, and Liana Boraas, PhD, an associate research scientist in the Nicoli lab, study bundles of molecules known as “cellular feet,” which allow for cellular migration. One molecule associated with cellular feet is messenger RNA (mRNA)—previously believed to play a role only in cellular protein production. In research recently published in Cell Reports (February 2025), Nicoli and Boraas found that this mRNA does not make protein but instead is part of the cellular footwear itself. This newly discovered role for the molecule may lead to new avenues of research into cellular mechanisms that are fundamental to health and disease.
A TARGET FOR TREATING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES?
In such autoimmune diseases as lupus, the immune system attacks the body’s own cells. Previous research by Noah Palm, PhD, professor of immunobiology, and Martin Kriegel, MD, PhD, associate professor adjunct of immunobiology and of medicine (rheumatology), indicated that in a mouse model of lupus, the bacterium Enterococcus gallinarum travels outside the gut, where it spurs the development of inflammatory T cells and an autoimmune response. In a recent study published in Science Translational Medicine (February 2025), the researchers reported that the bacterium also drives the development of inflammatory T cells in human cellular models—a finding that suggests E. gallinarum could be a future target for treatment of autoimmune diseases.
RISKS OF ‘MIRROR BACTERIA’
In a report published in Science (December 2024), Ruslan Medzhitov, PhD, Sterling Professor of Immunobiology, and colleagues worldwide warned of the risks posed by so-called “mirror bacteria.” Background: Many asymmetrical molecules within cells can exist in two mirror-image forms. DNA, for example, is built from “right-handed” nucleotides, while proteins consist of “left-handed” amino acids. Some synthetic biologists are now considering creating bacteria in which molecules like these are reversed. The report warns that populations of mirror bacteria could grow out of control, and human immune systems would likely be unable to fight off infections by the reversed bugs. According to the researchers, their report demonstrates the need for careful consideration of future mirror bacteria research.
PRETERM INFANT IMMUNITY
Studying preterm infants is key to improving their care, but it’s also difficult: They have too-little blood to provide a standard-sized blood sample safely. Liza Konnikova, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics, immunobiology, and reproductive sciences, and Bunmi Olaloye, MD, assistant professor in pediatrics, have identified a way to study the immune systems of extremely preterm infants by taking just two drops of blood. Using this method, the researchers recently reported in Science Translational Medicine (March 2025) that preterm infants have all the immune cells found in adults and full-term infants, but greater signs of inflammation than their full-term counterparts. In future trials, Konnikova plans to explore the implications of these findings for the long-term health of individuals who were born preterm.
PERSONALIZED KIDNEY CANCER VACCINE
High-risk kidney cancer is typically treated with surgery followed by immunotherapy drugs, which ramp up the body’s immune system with the hope that it attacks cancer cells. But the body’s activated immune cells cannot always find their cancerous targets. To address this problem, David Braun, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (medical oncology) and Louis Goodman and Alfred Gilman Yale Scholar, led a phase 1 trial in which nine advanced kidney cancer patients received personalized cancer vaccines, which train the immune system to attack cells with mutations specific to each patient’s cancer. Braun and colleagues reported in Nature (February 2025) that all trial participants mounted an immune response to the vaccine. Three years after vaccination, all patients remained
cancer-free.
MODULATING NEURAL SIGNALS
When neurons fire to transmit messages that control everything from our sense of smell to that of hearing, the release of neurotransmitters can vary in both intensity and speed. Previous research by Shyam Krishnakumar, PhD, assistant professor of neurology, and colleagues identified a protein—Synaptotagmin-1—as a key driver of rapid neurotransmitter release, but the researchers suspected that another protein fine-tuned this process. Using a stripped-down in vitro model of the synapse, the team recently confirmed that the Synaptotagmin-7 protein is responsible for dynamically adjusting neurotransmitter release. The findings, reported in Nature Communications (December 2024), could pave the way to develop new therapies for epilepsy and other neurological disorders.