This commentary on the power of proteomics highlights research showing how proteomics can advance the diagnosis of atherosclerosis, a type of vascular disease. Langley and colleagues use mass spectrometric analysis to define a 4-protein signature that predicts patients with atherosclerosis who are at risk for a vascular event, such as stroke or heart attack.This study … Read more
How will we benefit from being able to accurately predict the peptide antigens that the immune system can recognize? Vaccine development would be a major beneficiary of such knowledge (Figure 1). We could produce more effective and safer vaccines. We could develop vaccines for pathogens for which no vaccine is currently available. We could ensure … Read more
Target tissue type, as well as a patient’s gender, nutritional, and reproductive status, must be considered to manipulate signaling through the RANKL/RANK pathway for therapeutic benefit. In some contexts, activating this pathway can be beneficial and in others inhibiting this pathway is beneficial. RANKL is the ligand, RANK [receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)] … Read more
T cells of the adaptive immune system are not the only cytotoxic cells in the immune system. Natural killer cells (NK cells) are a cytotoxic white blood cell (lymphocyte) of the innate immune system. Clinical trials with NK cells use these as cell-based biologic therapies: The NK cells are the therapy. New research suggests that … Read more
Efforts are underway to identify the molecular reasons why some patients exhibit an enduring response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. These patients have been called “exceptional” responders or “super” responders. Some patients that have cancers with a lot of DNA mutations (high mutational burden) are better responders to immune checkpoint therapy compared with patients that … Read more