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Tag: oregon health and science university

  • OHSU Researchers Find New Tools For Early Cancer Detection, Treatment – KXL

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    OHSU researchers identify new tools for early cancer detection, treatment. MGN Image.

    PORTLAND, OR – Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute are taking a unique approach to cancer research.  In a report, they say the technologies they are exploring could transform how cancer is studied, detected, and treated by catching it earlier, when it’s more treatable and survival rates are highest.

    “Early detection is one of the most important factors in surviving cancer,” said senior report author Luiz Bertassoni, D.D.S., Ph.D., director of the Knight Cancer Precision Biofabrication Hub, and a professor at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and the OHSU School of Dentistry. “These new technologies give us a window into how cancer forms and progresses, which opens the door to understanding early cancer, paving the way for earlier diagnosis and even predict cancer initiation.”

    Luiz Bertassoni, D.D.S., Ph.D. (OHSU). Courtesy OHSU.

    Simply put, the researchers are taking cancer cells from patients and allowing them to grow into tumors in the lab.  The lab-grown models replicate the environment inside the human body and could unlock clues about how cancer begins.

    “This is a really exciting time in cancer research,” Bertassoni said. “There is momentum in bringing together cancer biology, engineering and clinical treatment. There are so many avenues that didn’t exist before.”

    Haylie Helms, M.S., is an OHSU graduate student in biomedical engineering and a graduate fellow of the International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection, and she is lead author on the report.

    Her dissertation is on engineering and biofabrication of early cancer models. Specifically, she is researching single-cell 3D bioprinting as a tool for early cancer detection and treatment. Bioprinting allows for the creation of realistic, complex 3D tumor models that mimic cells in the human body. Those models can be used to study tumor development, responses to drugs and personalize treatment strategies, she said.

    Haylie Helms, M.S., is an OHSU graduate student in biomedical engineering. Courtesy OHSU.

    “We can first build a healthy tissue and use different tools to turn it into cancer. We can also take live cancer cells from a patient biopsy and add them into the model,” she added. “In the lab, we can watch and see, ‘Why does a precancerous lesion in one person stay that way and never turn into cancer and in another person, it becomes a malignant tumor?’”

    This work at OHSU will also involve artificial intelligence, according to Helms. She noted that researchers are collecting so much data that the AI will help sort it all out for study.

    Another benefit of this research would be a shift away from animal testing in cancer research.

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    Tim Lantz

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  • OHSU Study: Dangerous Bacteria Stops Gut’s Infection Defense Mechanism – KXL

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    Isabella Rauch, Ph.D., is the senior author on a new study published in Nature that reveals how a dangerous strain of E. coli blocks the body’s immune defenses to spread infection. (OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks)

    PORTLAND, OR – Research conducted as Oregon Health & Science University shows a specific strain of E. coli can block your gut’s defense against infection.

    Researchers say when bacteria associated with food poisoning, such as E. coli, invade through the digestive tract, gut cells usually fight back by pushing infected cells out of the body to stop the infection from spreading.

    According to the study, which was published recently in Nature, scientists from Genentech in collaboration with researchers from OHSU, discovered that this strain of E. coli — known for causing bloody diarrhea — is able to spread more easily with the ability to stop the body’s natural defense.

    The research shows the bacteria inject a special protein called NleL into gut cells, which breaks down key enzymes, known as ROCK1 and ROCK2, that are needed for infected cells to be expelled. Without this process, the infected cells can’t leave quickly, allowing the bacteria to spread more easily.

    Experts say, when harmful bacteria invade the gut, the body fights back quickly. Usually, the first line of defense is the intestinal lining — made up of tightly packed cells that absorb nutrients and keep bacteria out of the bloodstream. If one of these cells gets infected, it will fall from the gut lining into the intestines to be flushed. This helps prevent the bacteria from spreading.

    “This study shows that pathogenic bacteria can block infected cells from being pushed out,” said Isabella Rauch, Ph.D., senior author of the study and associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

    “It’s a completely different strategy from what we’ve seen before. Some bacteria try to hide from being detected, but this one actually stops the cell’s escape route.”

    This discovery could pave the way for new treatments that target how bacteria cause disease, rather than killing the bacteria outright, like antibiotics do.

    “By understanding how bacteria bypass our body’s defenses, scientists could design anti-virulence therapies that don’t rely on antibiotics,” Rauch said. “That’s really important, especially as antibiotic resistance continues to rise.”

    A colorized electron micrograph of a cluster of E. coli bacteria is shown in this undated handout from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Acquired Through MGN Online.

    The findings also carry global health implications. This type of E. coli can be especially dangerous for young children, whose bodies can’t handle fluid loss as well. Scientists warn that climate change and weakened food safety systems could make these infections more common.

    “These kinds of bacteria are already a serious problem in places with poor sanitation,” Rauch said. “But with rising temperatures and cutbacks in food safety monitoring, they’re becoming a growing threat in developed countries too.”

    Beyond infectious disease, the discovery could also shed light on gut disorders like IBD, where the gut lining sheds too many cells too often.

    “This cell ‘extrusion’ process happens in healthy guts all the time at a low level,” Rauch said. “But in IBD, it ramps up, and we don’t fully understand why. Similarly, we also see this in gastrointestinal cancers. This research gives us more insight into both sides of the equation, both how the body protects itself and how things go wrong.”

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