Research findings at IGP during 2020

A comprehensive study from Uppsala University, involving more than 250,000 women, shows that oral contraceptive use protects against ovarian and endometrial cancer. The protective effect remains for several decades after discontinuing the use. The study is published in the journal Cancer Research.

In the condition known as cavernoma, lesions arise in a cluster of blood vessels in the brain, spinal cord or retina. Researchers in Elisabetta Dejana's group at IGP can now show, at molecular level, that these changes originate in vein cells. This new knowledge of the condition creates potential for developing better therapies for patients. The study has been published in the journal eLife.

Genetic examinations of more than 400 Viking age skeletons reveal that the Vikings that raided Europe came from relatively isolated groups in Scandinavia and many of them had a genetic influx from Asia or Southern Europe. This is presented in a study in the journal Nature, in which Marie Allen and Magdalena Bus from IGP have participated.

The internet can be used to provide education and support for self-management interventions to alleviate depression symptoms in individuals with cancer. This is shown in a study from Birgitta Johansson’s group at IGP.  

Researchers from IGP show in a new study that cell signalling regulating vessel leakage differs between blood and lymphatic vessels. The findings suggest a possibility to modulate this signalling in order to selectively control lymphatic vessel function and to treat diseases characterised by lymphatic vessel leakage.

In a study including more than 400 hospital patients with 18 different cancer diagnoses, researchers have been able to show that EVP, extracellular vesicles and particles, could be used as biomarkers for several cancer diseases. The study has been led by researchers from among others IGP.

Researchers at IGP have described the presence, throughout the human body, of the enzyme ACE2. This is thought to be the key protein used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus for host cell entry and development of the disease COVID-19. In contrast to previous studies, the study shows that no or very little ACE2 protein is present in the normal respiratory system. The results are presented in Molecular Systems Biology.

Therapies for treating glioblastoma brain cancer can be delivered with greater precision and existing drugs can be used in new ways. These are the conclusions from a study from IGP investigating a large number of cell samples from patients with brain tumours. The researchers have characterised how changes in glioblastoma cells influence the effect of different drugs. Their findings are published in the journal Cell Reports.

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a method for identifying functional mutations and how these affect genes with significance for the development of glioblastoma – a malignant brain tumor with very poor prognosis. The study is published in Genome Biology.

Lymphatic malformation is a debilitating and often incurable disease. Taija Mäkinen’s research group has in an international collaboration studied cellular mechanisms leading to abnormal vessel growth and identified a combination therapy that may allow effective treatment of these malformations.

In an international collaboration, researchers from IGP have mapped the lymph node lymphatic vessels in mice and humans down to the level of individual cells. The results may eventually help scientists to discover new methods for strengthening the immune system against viruses and cancer. Their work has been published in the journal Frontiers of Cardiovascular Research.

Targeting a molecule that contributes to leaky eye vessels, while sparing nerve and blood-vessel cells, could be a safer treatment strategy for age and diabetes-related vision loss. Scientists at IGP have identified a key step in the process that leads to leaky vessels and harmful swelling in eye diseases, according to a new study published today in the journal eLife.

Cancer cells grow and divide in an uncontrolled manner. A new study from IGP now shows how alterations in a cell’s degradation hubs, called lysosomes, can cause abnormal cell growth. The results are published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Could the ability of cancer cells to quickly alter their genome be used as a weapon against malignant tumours? Researchers at IGP have succeeded in developing a substance that has demonstrated promising results in experiments on both animal models and human cancer cells. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Using a computer algorithm, scientists at IGP have identified a promising new treatment for neuroblastoma. This form of cancer in children, which occurs in specialised nerve cells in the sympathetic nervous system, may be life-threatening. In the long term the discovery, described in the latest issue of the scientific journal Nature Communications, may result in a new form of treatment for children in whom the disease is severe or at an advanced stage.