Infectious Diseases

Developing nanotech therapies for traumatic brain injuries

by admin on May 11, 2013 at 6:01 am | 0 Comments

These nanoparticles of porous silicon, each 100 times smaller than a human hair, contain microscopic reservoirs that can hold and protect sensitive drugs. The surface of the particles can be covered with targeting molecules. (Photo by Chia-Chen Wu, UC San Diego)

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded $6 million to a team of researchers to develop nanotechnology therapies for the treatment of traumatic brain injury and associated infections. The award brings together a multi-disciplinary team of renowned experts in laboratory research, translational investigation, and clinical medicine. The team includes Sanford-Burnham’s Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., and is led by Professor Michael J. Sailor, Ph.D., from the University of California San Diego. Also on the team are Sangeeta N. Bhatia, M.D., Ph.D., of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Clark C. Chen, M.D., Ph.D., of UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Targeting dengue fever with 60° Pharmaceuticals

by Patrick Bartosch on March 2, 2013 at 6:00 am | 0 Comments

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Structure of the human proteinase furin.

We’re partnering with 60° Pharmaceuticals to test furin, a human proteinase, as a drug target for the treatment of dengue fever, one of the most common infectious diseases in the tropics and subtropics. 60° Pharmaceuticals, a philanthropic-for-profit company focused on neglected and rare diseases, will provide funding for the first phase of our research to explore inhibitors of furin.

Sanford-Burnham speaks with…Nobel Laureate Bruce Beutler [VIDEO]

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on November 10, 2012 at 5:51 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Bruce Beutler (right) and his host, Dr. Carl Ware, director of Sanford-Burnham's Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center

Bruce Beutler, M.D., professor and director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at UT Southwestern, shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his studies of the innate immune system. Working with mice, he discovered toll-like receptors, cellular sensors that recognize bacteria and activate inflammation. Dr. Beutler visited Sanford-Burnham’s La Jolla campus earlier this week to meet with colleagues and deliver a special lecture. He also serves on our Scientific Advisory Board.

While he was here, we sat down with Dr. Beutler and asked him about what inspired him to become a scientist, what he’s most proud of, where the field is headed, and how his life has changed since winning a Nobel.

Watch the video below to see what he said:

Researchers find new anti-malarial drug target

by admin on July 20, 2012 at 1:16 pm | 0 Comments

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Ring forms of the Plasmodium falciparum (malaria) parasite, inside red blood cells (Image by Michael Zahniser)

An international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, have identified the first reported inhibitors of a key enzyme involved in survival of the parasite responsible for malaria. Their findings, which may provide the basis for anti-malarial drug development, were published July 19 in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 216 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2010. Severe forms of the disease are mainly caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, transmitted to humans by female Anopheles mosquitoes. Malaria eradication has not been possible due to the lack of vaccines and the parasite’s ability to develop resistance to most drugs.

Ask the experts: What are the risks associated with first FDA-approved HIV prevention drug?

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on July 17, 2012 at 3:32 pm | 1 comment

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Carl Ware, Ph.D. (left) and Sumit Chanda, Ph.D.

Yesterday, the FDA approved the first-ever drug to prevent infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The drug, Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Truvada, was approved for use by certain high-risk, uninfected people to help prevent them from contracting HIV. Truvada works by making it harder for the virus to multiply.

What do the experts think of Truvada? We asked Carl Ware, Ph.D., director of Sanford-Burnham’s Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center, and Sumit Chanda, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Center whose lab studies the complex interactions between host cells and viruses such as HIV.

“This type of drug is long overdue,” Ware says. “It may be the best opportunity to control the virus spread that we have in the absence of the best possible approach—an effective vaccine. Only certain HIV-negative people at high risk for exposure to the virus are supposed to use this new drug, for example the spouse of someone that has HIV. Yet Truvada will limit the spread of the virus, which is important for everyone.”

What about long-term risks?

Assembling to attack infection

by Ana Miletic Sedy on February 20, 2012 at 7:55 am | 0 Comments

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How to make holes in bacteria: Complement protein C6 (in foreground) is part of the innate immune system. When activated, it triggers assembly of the Membrane Attack Complex (MAC), which forms pores in bacterial membranes (three membrane-inserted MACs are shown in background).

Each day, we are confronted by millions of bacteria, all attempting to invade our bodies and cause infection. It’s the job of the body’s immune system to defend against these little invaders. In order to fight off bacteria (as well as viruses and cancerous cells), the immune system has an arsenal of weapons at its disposal. One of these weapons is the complement system. Complement is so important for fighting infections that people who have mutations in certain complement proteins or their regulators often suffer from frequent bacterial infections.

How the body fends off bacteria

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on February 16, 2012 at 11:01 am | 1 comment

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Structure of bacterial flagellin bound to TLR5

To invade organisms such as humans, bacteria make use of a protein called flagellin, part of a tail-like appendage that helps the bacteria move about. Now, for the first time, a team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has determined the 3D structure of the interaction between this critical bacterial protein and an immune molecule called TLR5, shedding light on how the body protects itself from such foreign invaders.

The study, published February 17 in Science, not only helps decipher the molecular mechanism underlying TLR5 recognition and function, but it also advances knowledge that’s key to the design of new therapeutics.

World Health Day 2011: No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on April 7, 2011 at 10:28 am | 0 Comments

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics (Image courtesy of the CDC)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacterial infection that is highly resistant to some antibiotics. (Image courtesy of the CDC)

Editor’s update, April 8, 2011: It’s not too late – you can still find audio and slides from this event here.

Today, World Health Day 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls on governments and stakeholders to implement the policies and practices needed to prevent and counter the emergence of microorganisms resistant to current therapies.

Antibiotics are among the most important advances in human health, but their use and misuse over the past 70 years have increased the number and types of microorganisms resistant to antibiotics – resulting in deaths, greater suffering and disability and higher healthcare costs. The challenge posed to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is loud and clear – only seven new antibiotics have been introduced since 2003.

A press conference will be held this afternoon at Sanford-Burnham’s La Jolla, Calif. campus to feature innovators in antibiotic research and development.

WHAT: Innovation in Antibiotics: Medicine for the Next Wave of Bacterial Infections

WHEN: Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time

WHERE: Sanford Children’s Health Research Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, 10905 Road to the Cure, San Diego, CA 92121 or via webcast.

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Quick peek at Sanford-Burnham

by Josh Baxt on March 23, 2011 at 7:19 am | 0 Comments

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Sanford-Burnham's La Jolla campus. Photo by Nadia Borowski Scott

A video by high school student Daniel Osterman, son of Sanford-Burnham investigator Dr. Andrei Osterman, takes a quick look at the basic biomedical research being conducted at the Institute. In particular, the piece focuses on Dr. Hudson Freeze’s research. Dr. Freeze recently organized Sanford-Burnham’s 2^nd Annual Rare Disease Symposium, and studies a group of rare conditions called Congenital Disorders of Glycosolation (CDG), in which sugars fail to attach properly to proteins.

Basic research bolsters clinical care

by Josh Baxt on February 8, 2011 at 1:18 pm | 0 Comments

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Dr. Jaime Green

Bone marrow (stem cell) transplants have been a life-saving tool for patients with leukemia and lymphoma. However, like most cancer treatments, they come with significant risk. Patients can be immune-compromised for as long as a year, making them vulnerable to pathogens that most people would fight off easily.

One such pathogen is cytomegalovirus (CMV), a member of the herpes virus family. People usually get CMV early in life (from childhood to early adulthood), experience mild symptoms and move on. However, for immune-compromised patients, CMV can be a serious and deadly complication.

High-impact research

by Josh Baxt on January 5, 2011 at 9:47 am | 1 comment

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Dr. Sumit Chanda

Two years ago, Sanford-Burnham’s Dr. Sumit Chanda, Salk’s Dr. John Young and colleagues collaborated on a paper about HIV infection. They were trying to figure out how the virus, with only nine genes that code for 15 proteins, could be so effective with such a small genetic payload. They knew the virus was hijacking human proteins to succeed, but they wanted to pinpoint exactly which proteins were affected. The study, published October 3, 2008 in Cell, identified 295 host proteins involved in HIV infection. Since then, these findings have greatly impacted HIV research. In recognition of the paper’s significance, Thomson Reuters’ Science Watch has named it a “Fast Moving Front” paper for January 2011. In the accompanying interview with Science Watch, Drs. Chanda and Young said:

This was one of the first studies to combine genome-wide RNAi screening and bioinformatics to identify the repertoire of host cellular factors that help facilitate HIV replication in human cells. It represents a significant advance in our understanding of viral-host interactions, providing a blueprint of the machinery that is exploited by the virus.

The paper’s ripple effect is likely to continue - researchers are just now beginning to develop anti-HIV therapies that target some of these 295 host proteins.

Our Top 10 of 2010

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on December 31, 2010 at 9:00 am | 1 comment

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As 2010 comes to a close, we take a look back at our top 10 most popular posts here on Beaker, the Sanford-Burnham science blog. Enjoy… and have a Happy New Year!

(This post is our December entry in the Health Activist Blog Carnival. Read all about it here.)

Fresh recruits at the immunological frontlines

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on November 30, 2010 at 10:44 am | 1 comment

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The immune system is always standing by, ready to fight infection. Immune cells called lymphocytes and dendritic cellshang out in lymph nodes, surveying the environment for signs of invaders and attacking infected cells when necessary.“It’s crucial that lymphocytes meet dendritic cells in the confined space of a lymph node – they’d have a hard time finding one another in the fast-moving bloodstream,” explains Dr. Minoru Fukuda, professor in Sanford-Burnham’s NCI-Designated Cancer Center.

Dr. Fukuda, along with staff scientist Dr. Xingfeng Bao and their colleagues, recently showed that heparan sulfate – a type of long sugar chain – is responsible for recruiting these immune cells to their lymph node meeting places. Normally, lymphocytes flow through the bloodstream until blood vessel cells rope them in. From there, the immune defenders can squeeze out of the blood stream and into the surrounding tissue or lymphatic system.

Hibernating herpes viruses

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on October 14, 2010 at 9:39 am | 1 comment

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Herpes viruses are good at hiding. They infect human cells and lay dormant there until replication is activated by stress or some other environmental factor. One type, Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is one of only a few viruses known to cause cancer.

In a study that appeared online September 17 in the journal EMBO Reports, Sanford-Burnham’s Dr. Tariq Rana and colleagues found that KSHV stays quiet by expressing certain microRNAs (miRNAs), small strands of genetic material that interfere with protein production.

“KSHV dormancy is believed to be essential for tumor formation, yet some forms of cancers caused by the virus have also been linked to viral reactivation,” explains Dr. Rana, professor and director of Sanford-Burnham’s RNA Biology Program. “This study helps us better understand the KSHV life cycle, thus providing new insight into how the virus causes cancer in some populations.”

Carl Ware & secrets of the immune system

by Josh Baxt on September 9, 2010 at 10:52 am | 1 comment

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Dr. Carl Ware has joined Sanford-Burnham’s faculty as director of the Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center (IIDC). Although this is the first time Dr. Ware has been employed at Sanford-Burnham, his roots with the Institute go back to 1996. That’s when he, Dr. John Reed, Dr. Guy Salvesen, and others began a collaborative project to study apoptosis and cell death. That same year, Dr. Ware joined the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, where he led the Division of Molecular Immunology. Over the years, he has maintained strong ties with Sanford-Burnham.Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the fundamental pathways that control cytokines, a family of proteins involved in immune signaling. One group of cytokines, called tumor necrosis factors or TNF, are part of an intricate communication network between immune system cells.

“They’re complicated circuits,” says Dr. Ware. “There are more than two dozen proteins in this family and an equal number of receptors. The pathways involve hundreds of proteins. In infectious disease, these pathways are amplified in a very dramatic fashion. In autoimmune disease the pathways escape regulatory control entirely. Something just goes haywire. However, with any circuit, theoretically, you can rewire around it.”

Top Stories - Infectious Diseases

Developing nanotech therapies for traumatic brain injuries

Targeting dengue fever with 60° Pharmaceuticals

Sanford-Burnham speaks with…Nobel Laureate Bruce Beutler [VIDEO]

Researchers find new anti-malarial drug target

Ask the experts: What are the risks associated with first FDA-approved HIV prevention drug?

Assembling to attack infection

How the body fends off bacteria

World Health Day 2011: No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow

Quick peek at Sanford-Burnham

Basic research bolsters clinical care

High-impact research

Our Top 10 of 2010

Fresh recruits at the immunological frontlines

Hibernating herpes viruses

Carl Ware & secrets of the immune system

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