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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a molecular pathway involved in the development of pancreatic tumours. The process may have a role in the disease’s high resistance to therapy and predisposition for metastasis.

The study’s results, published in Nature Cell Biology, discovered that pancreatic tumor-initiating cells must first overcome local “isolation stress” by forming their own tumor-promoting microenvironment, before recruiting nearby cells into this network. New treatments that target this tumor-initiating pathway may be able to slow the development, recurrence, and spread of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest tumours, and it is famously resistant to therapy. Cancer recurrence or metastasis affects nearly all patients.

Cancer cells (those with malignant mutations, known as oncogenes) lose adhesion to other cells and the extracellular matrix (the web of macromolecules that encases and supports all cells) in the early stages of tumour development. Because of this isolation, there is a local scarcity of oxygen and nutrients. Most cells cannot tolerate such isolated stress, but a few of them can.

Tumor-initiating cells (TIC) play an important role in tumour genesis, recurrence, and metastatic dissemination. Their resistance to these early poor settings distinguishes them from other cancer cells. They may adapt to the hard environment, much like cactus in the desert, and create the stage for additional tumour growth.

“Our goal was to understand what special properties these tumor-initiating cells have and whether we can control the growth and spread of cancer by disrupting them,” said senior study author David Cheresh, PhD, Distinguished Professor and vice chair of the Department of Pathology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a member of the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

To find out, first author Chengsheng Wu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Cheresh’s group, treated pancreatic cell lines to a variety of stresses, including low oxygen and sugar levels. He next determined which cells could adapt to the tough environment and examined which genes and chemicals in these cells were altered. The stress-tolerant tumor-initiating cells had lower levels of miR-139-5p, a tumor-suppressive microRNA.

As a result, the lysophosphatidic acid receptor 4 (LPAR4), a G-protein-coupled receptor on the cell surface, was upregulated. “LPAR4 is not normally found on happy cells, but it gets turned on in stressful environments to help the cells survive, which is particularly advantageous for tumor-initiating cells,” said Cheresh.

The researchers discovered that LPAR4 expression stimulated the synthesis of novel extracellular matrix proteins, allowing cancer cells to begin constructing their own tumor-supporting microenvironment.

The new extracellular matrix was especially high in fibronectin, a protein that interacts to transmembrane receptors known as integrins on neighbouring cells. When these cells’ integrins saw fibronectin, they began directing the cells to express their own tumor-initiating genes. These additional cells were eventually drawn into the fibronectin matrix put down by the tumor-initiating cells, and a tumour began to develop.

“Our findings establish a critical role for LPAR4 in pancreatic tumor initiation, and a likely role in other epithelial cancers, such as lung cancer,” said Cheresh, adding, “It is central to tumor-initiating cells’ ability to overcome isolation stress and build their own niche in which tumors can form.”

According to the researchers, solitary stress is not the only way this signalling system may be activated. Chemotherapy medications are also intended to stress cancer cells. Indeed, Cheresh’s team discovered that standard-of-care chemotherapeutics were also upregulating LPAR4 in cultured tumour cells and pancreatic tumours in animals. According to the researchers, this might explain how such tumour cells gain stress tolerance and medication resistance.

Further research revealed that employing integrin antagonists to prevent cells from using the fibronectin matrix reversed the stress tolerance benefit of LPAR4 expression. Thus, the authors propose that targeting the LPAR4 pathway or interrupting the fibronectin/integrin connection might be useful in limiting pancreatic tumour development, dissemination, and treatment resistance.

“We can think of tumor-initiating cells as being in a transient state that can be induced by different stressors, so our clinical goal would be to prevent oncogenic cells from ever entering this state,” said Cheresh, adding, “Now that we’ve identified the pathway, we can assess all the different ways we can intervene.”

A novel medicine targeting this route, according to the researchers, might be used as a preventive in people at high risk of getting the illness, or to prevent new tumours from growing in cancer cases with a high possibility of spreading. Combining the novel medicine with current chemotherapeutics that stress mature tumour cells may help reduce the consequences of drug resistance and make cancer therapies more successful, according to the scientists.

“Treating cancer can feel a little like whack-a-mole but if we have two or three hammers and we know where the moles are going to pop up next, we can beat the game,” said Cheresh.

According to recent study, social media superstars’ contraceptive advice may be placing young people at risk of unplanned births. According to the study, which was published in the journal Health Communication, teenagers and young adults may also be receiving inaccurate sexual health information, making many of the popular films a public health danger.

Researchers examined a large number of YouTube videos released by celebrities with up to 2.2 million followers and discovered that viewers are more likely to get information on ceasing hormonal contraception rather than how to use contraception or have safe sex. Previous research reveals that because of their relatability and accessibility, influencers are more persuasive and impactful than traditional celebrities.

Young people regard them as quite trustworthy, with young women indicating that influencers sometimes appear to be close sisters. YouTube influencers are especially likely to provide personal information, which is known to develop ties with followers. To find out more, a team of specialists from the University of Delaware in the United States examined YouTube for videos in which influencers with at least 20,000 followers discussed their contraceptive experiences.

They found 50 videos released between December 2019 and December 2021 by influencers with 20,000 to 2.2 million followers. The videos were then evaluated to establish the influencers’ opinions about hormonal birth control, such as contraceptive pills, injections, and implants, as well as non-hormonal alternatives such as fertility tracker apps and condoms.

The majority of the influencers discussed discontinuing hormonal birth control, with 92% stating they were using or had used it and 74% saying they had ceased or planned to discontinue it. The major reasons behind the influencers’ decision to stop were a desire to be more natural and to enhance their mental health. According to the experts, the link between depression and hormonal birth control is still unclear.

Non-hormonal birth control was used or was used by 40% of the influencers, with fertility monitors being the most prevalent technique. Non-hormonal birth control was liked because it helped prevent pregnancies, was more natural, had less side effects, and was less expensive.

Non-hormonal birth control was used or was used by 40% of the influencers, with fertility monitors being the most prevalent technique.
Non-hormonal birth control was liked because it helped prevent pregnancies, was more natural, had less side effects, and was less expensive.
The popularity of fertility trackers is troubling, says lead author Emily Pfender, of the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware – who defines some of the information as “possibly dangerous,”.

“Tracking cycles may not be as effective at preventing pregnancy as hormonal birth control,” she says.
“Additionally, what young viewers don’t see in influencer content is the amount of effort and meticulous planning that goes into tracking cycles.
“For example, to use the cycle tracking method as intended, women must faithfully measure basal body temperature and viscosity of cervical fluid at the same time every day, track cycle lengths to calculate their fertile window and refrain from having sex on specific days of their cycle.”

Finally, few of the women who stopped using a hormonal contraception reported switching to another technique. Only 20% had begun using a non-hormonal contraceptive, while 14% had begun using a different hormonal contraceptive. “The discontinuation of hormonal birth control is risky because it increases the likelihood of unplanned pregnancy,” adds Ms. Pfender.

“Influencers’ videos that discourage the use of a highly effective option for birth control and fail to encourage using other forms of protection to prevent against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections are a public health issue.”

The study’s limitations include a lack of information on who is watching the films, if some age groups find them more persuasive than others, and whether the keywords used to search for the videos retrieved all relevant examples.
The authors suggest that, while social media may be a beneficial source of knowledge, young people should exercise caution when seeking contraceptive advice from influencers.

“Getting sexual health information from social media gives young adults the opportunity to get peer perspectives and seek out relatable information,” says Ms. Pfender, “It is an especially good way for underrepresented groups such as LGBTQ+ young adults to get tailored sexual health information.”

According to Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, India’s fight against the Covid issue has established a good global precedent, and it may serve as a model for others in terms of how it tackled the manufacture and distribution of vaccinations on such a large scale.

“We were proud to be able to help work with the Indian government and with partners like the Serum Institute of India, to help manufacture some of the vaccines and to help with some of the primary health care facilities to help with distribution and in some of the states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where we work closely, but it really is a model both because of the direct COVID response, but also because the infrastructure that’s been put in place has lots of positive effects by other forms of healthcare,” Suzman told ANI in an exclusive interview.

According to the most recent data from India’s health ministry, it has delivered over 2.2 billion doses. When asked what obstacles the foundation encountered during and after the Covid epidemic, she stated that the pandemic had a terrible impact, particularly on economic growth, poverty, and people’s health.

“Yes, well, globally COVID has had a devastating impact. And not just in terms of the direct impact of the disease itself, but the knock-on impact on economic growth on poverty on health. So across large parts, I think around a third of the developing world is likely to be in recession,” he said.

However, he feels India is at a “bright light” since the country’s larger healthcare ecosystem has advanced.

“From vaccination campaigns to nutrition campaigns to sanitation campaigns. And so in all of those areas, we’re trying to sound the call to action and saying the world really needs to support and engage much more deeply so that we can start to accelerate progress again.”

The Gates Foundation has been active in India for almost two decades, working in a variety of industries ranging from agriculture to financial services and health care, among others. Furthermore, he stated that the Indian government has already demonstrated a strong commitment to driving forward in mitigating global health issues, as well as broader development issues such as digital infrastructure and financial services, which can be examples of India addressing some of these issues.

“And so I think at the government of India’s stated ambition to try and tackle both those things, the issues of pandemic preparedness and global health response so that we can both finish the job on COVID and be ready to address the next pandemic, but also to think about these wider development challenges and using new tools like the digital financial infrastructure that India has developed through UPI, but also some of the new initiatives like the use of environment Digital Health Initiative, which we think again as some very positive models that we’ll be able to use in Africa and other parts of the developing world,” the CEO said.

Meanwhile, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stated on Monday that it will invest USD 8.3 billion in 2023 to continue its battle against poverty, sickness, and unfairness. It intends to meet its goal of a USD 9 billion yearly payout by 2026.

On the pledge for 2023 and its commitment to fight malaria through equipping partner countries, Suzman said: “Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people every year still and is responsible for many millions of cases. India has made great strides addressing some of the most serious incidents remaining in sort of central and west Africa, but they’re also it’s in South Asia and Latin America.”

He went on to say that there have been a lot of initiatives taken, including the distribution of new pesticides, mosquito nets, and other treatments and instruments in malarial regions, all of which have been quite successful.
“There are some new scientific advances using monoclonal antibodies, which is sort of complex and still expensive, but we’ve seen 80 to 90 per cent success rates in addressing malaria and we think those are going to be the tools that over the next decade or two, the world will actually move from containing and preventing malaria to eventually eradicating it. And that is our innovation,” he further said.

The foundation’s aim is to envision a society in which every individual has the opportunity to live a healthy and productive life. Finally, when asked if the foundation is working on reverse zoonosis, he stated that they are in discussions with India’s department of biotechnology, and that the foundation is aware of the problems of how animal health is related to human health.

“We also are global supporters of an initiative called the Coalition for epidemic preparedness initiative (CEPI) which is a major global effort that is trying to develop protective vaccines against other diseases that could become future pandemics. And so, we work on all of those areas, but really in partnership, we don’t take the lead on those research. We do it through coalitions with partnerships with governments like India or the United States.” An infection or disease that is transmissible from humans to animals under natural conditions is called reverse zoonosis.

The number and diversity of sites visited are important considerations, with people who travel more than 15 miles from home more likely to report overall excellent health. Those who travel more frequently are more likely to see friends and family. This increase in social interaction has been related to improved health.

According to a recent study done by UCL academics, people who travel outside of their communities feel healthier than those who stay closer to home. According to the researchers, the findings demonstrate the need of investing in medium and long-distance transportation choices such as better-served highways and access to trains and buses.

The researchers examined travel in the north of England, where inhabitants have poorer health outcomes than the rest of the country and many rural and suburban regions have inadequate transportation accessibility.
They specifically examined the relationships between perceived constraints to travel outside of the local area, such as a lack of suitable public transportation, and self-rated health, taking into account trip frequency, the number of different places visited, distance travelled, car use, and public transportation use.

Lead author Dr Paulo Anciaes (UCL Bartlett School of Environment, Energy & Resources) said: “We expected to find that restrictions on travel through a lack of access to suitable public transport or to a private car would be linked to residents’ perception of their health because of the lack of social participation.

“We explored the links between constraints to travel more than 15 miles from home, demographics and location and social participation in how residents perceived their own health, finding that the key variable is the number of different places people visit outside their local area. This links to more social participation and better health.”

The researchers performed an online survey of 3,014 nationally representative northern English people. Travel restrictions have previously been highlighted as contributing to economic disadvantage and a worse feeling of wellbeing in the region, but the influence on health has not previously been investigated. The researchers employed a study approach known as “path analysis,” which exposes the direct and indirect consequences of travel limits outside of people’s immediate surroundings.
The study discovered that the relationships between travel limits, social involvement, and health are higher among those over the age of 55. Constraints on the number of various places someone may go to are associated with less regular contact with friends and engagement in clubs and organisations among this group.

Dr Anciaes explained: “Those aged over 55 are more likely to face other constraints to travel such as limited mobility. They are also more likely to suffer from loneliness. In the north of England, rural and suburban areas with limited access options are more likely to experience population loss as young people move to the cities in search of work and good travel options. Meanwhile, older generations are left behind in these areas with limited transport options. The range of places they can visit is low, leading to less social participation and lower levels of general health.

“The results of this study emphasise the need for public policies that reduce constraints to travel in the region, by providing better options for private and public transport that allows for more frequent and longer trips.”

According to new study, six minutes of high-intensity exercise can lengthen the lifetime of a healthy brain and prevent the onset of neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. A brief but intensive bout of cycling enhances the synthesis of a specialised protein that is crucial for brain development, learning, and memory, and may protect the brain against age-related cognitive decline, according to new study published in The Journal of Physiology. This exercise insight is part of a larger effort to find non-pharmacological methods to healthy ageing that are accessible, egalitarian, and inexpensive to anybody.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a specialised protein that promotes neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to build new connections and pathways) and neuron survival. Animal studies have demonstrated that increasing the availability of BDNF promotes memory formation and storage, improves learning, and improves general cognitive function. These important responsibilities, as well as its apparent neuroprotective properties, have sparked interest in BDNF for ageing research.

Lead author Travis Gibbons from University of Otago, New Zealand said: “BDNF has shown great promise in animal models, but pharmaceutical interventions have thus far failed to safely harness the protective power of BDNF in humans. We saw the need to explore non-pharmacological approaches that can preserve the brain’s capacity which humans can use to naturally increase BDNF to help with healthy ageing.”

In comparison to one day of fasting with or without a lengthy session of gentle activity, they discovered that quick but vigorous exercise was the most efficient strategy to raise BDNF. When compared to fasting (no change in BDNF concentration) or extended exercise, BDNF rose four to five-fold (396 pg L-1 to 1170 pg L-1) (slight increase in BDNF concentration, 336 pg L-1 to 390 pg L-1).

The source of these discrepancies is unknown, and additional study is required to understand the processes at work. One theory is linked to the cerebral substrate switch and glucose metabolism, which is the brain’s principal fuel source.

The cerebral substrate switch occurs when the brain moves from one preferred fuel source to another in order to meet the body’s energy demands, such as metabolising lactate rather than glucose during exercise. The brain’s conversion from glucose to lactate activates pathways that result in higher BDNF levels in the blood.

The observed rise in BDNF after exercise might be attributed to an increase in the number of platelets (the smallest blood cell), which contain high quantities of BDNF. Exercise has a greater affect on platelet concentrations in the blood than fasting and boosts them by 20%.

The study included 12 physically active volunteers (six males and six females aged 18 to 56 years). The balanced ratio of male and female participants was intended to create a more accurate portrayal of the population rather than to highlight gender inequalities. More study is being conducted to investigate the impact of calorie restriction and exercise on BDNF and the cognitive advantages.

Travis Gibbons said: “We are now studying how fasting for longer durations, for example up to three days, influences BDNF. We are curious whether exercising hard at the start of a fast accelerates the beneficial effects of fasting. Fasting and exercise are rarely studied together. We think fasting and exercise can be used in conjunction to optimise BDNF production in the human brain.”

According to study from Tokyo Metropolitan University, a protein known as platelet-derived growth factor subunit B (PDGF-B), which is constantly secreted by skeletal muscle cells, has been discovered to help in muscle regeneration by stimulating the creation of myoblasts, or muscle stem cells. Surprisingly, scientists observed that PDGF-B also increases muscle fibre development. They discovered that this corresponded to the greater contraction of the fibres. The drugs they identified have the potential to change the way we treat muscular injuries and atrophy. Skeletal muscle cells release myokines, which are tiny proteins. They serve a variety of roles and can operate on cells both close and far from where they are produced.

A whole picture of how myokines impact cellular processes is yet unknown, although they are thought to play a significant role in exercise-related body activities, notably muscle tissue preservation. A team lead by Associate Professor Yasuko Manabe at Tokyo Metropolitan University has been investigating how myokines influence muscle cell behaviour. They discovered that platelet-derived growth factor subunit B, or PDGF-B, is released by skeletal muscles in a constitutive manner, that is, without any trigger.

They exposed myoblasts, precursor cells that develop into muscle fibres, to PDGF-B to learn more about its involvement. They were able to convincingly demonstrate that PDGF-B increased myoblast proliferation. Surprisingly, they discovered that PDGF-B had an effect on cells that had already differentiated. They subjected myotubes, a step of muscle fibre formation, to the same myokine. Myotubes treated in this manner matured considerably faster, with visible increases in diameter under a microscope.

They also have higher levels of Myosin Heavy Chain, which is a component of the protein structure of myosin, the molecular motor responsible for muscle contraction. This was demonstrated to directly correspond to enhanced contractile strength using a recently developed approach based on examining how myotubes responded to an electric pulse. As a result, PDGF-B not only promotes muscle growth but also strengthens it.

However, this does not imply that both processes are increased haphazardly. They discovered modest changes in PDGF-B signalling pathways between myotubes and myoblasts, which they believe are important in cells transitioning from a proliferating to a maturing phase.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in India has reached 2,149, with 104 new cases reported in the previous 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday. The number of current Covid cases has decreased somewhat since January 13, when there were 2,257 active cases. Since last week, the rate of active cases has been 0.01 percent, while the current recovery rate has been 98.08 percent. 182 recoveries have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 4.5 crores (4,41,48,165).

The Nationwide Vaccination Drive has so far provided 220.17 crore vaccine doses (95.14 cr Second Dose and 22.45 cr Precaution Dose), with around 23,500 (23,490) vaccine doses administered in the previous 24 hours.
While the daily positivity rate has decreased from 0.09 to 0.07 percent, the weekly positivity rate has remained stable at 0.10 percent. The overall number of tests performed is 91.32 crore, with nearly 1.5 lakh (1,52,825) tests performed in the previous 24 hours.

According to a new study that looked at how social links between intimate social circles and larger groups relate to physical and psychological well-being, spending time with family over the Christmas season may enhance people’s health. The study was led by researchers from the University of Kent, Nottingham Trent University (NTU), and Coventry University. It used self-reported data from over 13,000 people in 122 countries obtained during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Family ties cleaned hands “a lot,” compared to 32% who were not closely attached with their family. Furthermore, 54% of persons who were not attached with their family said they never donned a mask.\

Bonded persons were far more likely to engage in health-related behaviours. Despite making up just 27% of the total sample, persons with strong family relationships made up 73% of those who participated in social distance, 35% of those who cleaned their hands, and 36% of those who wore a mask “a lot” or more. The study also discovered that having strong ties with both tight and broader social circles is connected with improved mental health and wellbeing. Importantly, the bigger the number of organisations with which people had strong relationships, the greater their involvement in health behaviours and the higher their reported psychological well-being, with less worry and sadness.

The study suggests that public health messages target smaller networks as well as multiple groups, especially during times of crisis when people should be encouraged to communicate their beneficial health behaviours with their intimate social circles. It is also proposed that healthcare systems can lessen their reliance on pharmacological treatments by utilising social prescribing to assist persons who lack these relationships in their lives.

The study’s findings, which included participants from Bangladesh, Brazil, and Peru, have implications for addressing harmful physical and mental health consequences on a worldwide scale. By addressing such a large portion of the worldwide population, the study goes beyond the scope of typical methodologies in psychology.

Dr Martha Newson, an anthropologist at the University of Kent, stated, ‘This research speaks to the human yearning to belong – this is one of the reasons we believed it was so vital to have a really varied sample from across the globe. Other people important to you no matter where you are in the globe. We discovered that having many groups was important for encouraging better health behaviours, including bonding to abstract groups such as your country or government, but most importantly, our closest friends and family – groups that we have most likely recognised as important since the beginning of human history.’

Senior Lecturer in Psychology at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, Dr Bahar Tuncgenc, added: ‘At times of turmoil, such as during disasters, social crises, or pandemics, our social bonds can be key to receiving support. We look out to people we trust and identify with as we decide what course of action to take. That’s why our close bonds with family – the people many of us share significant life events with and learn from – can promote healthy behaviours.
‘At the same time, having strong social connections – no matter how abstract or distant these might be – is crucial for promoting mental health. Our research shows that close and extended social bonds offer different sources of support and direction.’

Dr Valerie van Mulukom, Assistant Professor at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations, stated: “We tend to conceive of ourselves in the West as individuals who must survive and conquer the world on our own. Our findings show that humans are very much social animals that benefit and rely on their communities in a variety of ways. This is especially noticeable during difficult times. For optimum efficiency and wellbeing in times of disaster, government programmes should include these psychological demands and procedures, as well as engage local authorities and grassroots organisations.”