New Targets for Restoring Skeletal Health
Shuanhu Zhou, PhD, of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, has found that there are paracrine (cell to cell signaling) effects of blood-forming hematopoietic cells on human mesenchymal stem cells­­—bone-forming precursors found in bone marrow. His findings appear in Scientific Reports.
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A New Generation of siRNA Nanoparticles
Jinjun Shi, PhD, of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, and his colleagues have developed a new platform that uses nanoparticles to systemically deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) to solid tumors. In a paper published in PNAS, the researchers report using the nanoparticle platform to validate Proibitin1 (PHB1) as a therapeutic target for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and describe the platform’s potential for use in validating other potential cancer targets and in developing new cancer therapies.
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ELIXA Trial Results
An international, multidisciplinary team including investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) has found that lixisenatide, a member of a class of glucose-lowering drugs frequently prescribed in Europe to patients with diabetes, did not increase risk of cardiovascular events including heart failure. These results – the first to be reported on the cardiovascular safety of a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist – were presented at the American Diabetes Association’s 75th Scientific Sessions.
Read more in a BWH press release >>

Viral History in a Drop of Blood
From a single drop of blood, researchers can simultaneously test for more than 1,000 different strains of viruses that currently or have previously infected a person. Using a new method known as VirScan, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School tested for evidence of past viral infections, detecting on average 10 viral species per person. The new work sheds light on the interplay between a person’s immunity and the human virome — the vast array of viruses that can infect humans – with implications both for the clinic and for the field of immunology. The team reports its findings in Science.
Read more in a BWH press release >>

Benefit of Surgery for Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ (DCIS) Investigated
In a study published in JAMA Surgery, researchers from BWH report that breast surgery performed at or shortly after a diagnosis of low-grade ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) did not significantly change patients’ survival rate. The team finds that the survival rate for those with intermediate- and high-grade DCIS does improve with surgery, but the work raises concerns about overtreatment and the necessity and benefit of surgery for all patients with low-grade DCIS.
Read more in a BWH press release >>