By Heather Hobbs
BRINGING YOU THE LATEST NEWS & EVENTS FROM THE SCIENCE INDUSTRY
AI reveals deeper understanding of heart genetics and cardiac traits
Alex Frangi (Credit: University of Manchester)
Scientists at the University of Manchester, collaborators from the University of Leeds (UK), the National Scientifi c and Technical Research Council (Santa Fe, Argentina) and IBM Research (Almaden, CA), have used AI to analyse over 50,000 three-dimensional Magnetic Resonance images of the heart from the UK Biobank’s stored data, gaining insights into heart genetics and structure.
The study revealed 49 novel genetic locations showing an association with morphological cardiac traits with high statistical signifi cance, as well as 25 additional loci with suggestive evidence, suggesting potential of new targeted therapies for those at risk of heart disease.
The research, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), The Royal Society, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the Argentinean National Scientifi c and Technical Research Council (CONICET), was led by Professor Alejandro Frangi FREng, Director of Manchester’s Christabel Pankhurst Institute for Health Technology Research and Innovation. “This is an achievement which once would have seemed like science fi ction, but we show that it is completely possible to use AI to understand the genetic underpinning of the left ventricle, just by looking at three-
dimensional images of the heart. This study used AI not only to delineate the cardiac chambers from three-dimensional medical images at pace, but also to unveil novel genetic loci associated with various cardiovascular deep phenotypes.”
“This research exemplifi es the power of multidisciplinary teams and international collaborations, bolstered by UK Biobank’s valuable data. By marrying genetic data with cardiac imaging through advanced machine learning, we’ve gained novel insights into the factors shaping cardiovascular health,” he added.
Early career scientist PhD candidate Rodrigo Bonazzola, supervised jointly by Professor Frangi, Dr Enzo Ferrante (CONICET) and Dr Tanveer Syeda-Mahmood(IBM Fellow and Chief Scientist at IBM Research, was the study’s lead author: “Our research reveals genes that harbour mutations known to be detrimental to other organisms, yet the impact of common variations within these genes on cardiac structure across the human population had not been previously documented.
For instance, the STRN gene, recognised for its harmful variants leading to dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs, exhibits a common variant in humans that seems to induce a subtle but detectable change in mitral orientation.”
The study was published in Nature Machine Intelligence. More information online
ilmt.co/PL/Looy
62394pr@reply-direct.com
Combination therapy shown to shrink tumours Bassam Janji
A collaborative team effort led by the Tumor Immunotherapy and Microenvironment (TIME) group at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, along with Sprint Bioscience and Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) has discovered a promising new approach for cancer treatment. This strategy focuses on unlocking the full potential of STING agonists, a new class of drugs designed to boost the body’s immune system to fi ght cancer.
Cancer cells can employ various
strategies to evade the body’s natural defences, rendering existing immunotherapies ineffective. Previous research work by the TIME group and Sprint Bioscience showed how inhibiting a specifi c protein (Vps34) involved in this immune evasion could enhance the effectiveness of existing cancer immunotherapy based on checkpoint blockades. Building upon this success, the latest study explores the exciting synergy between Vps34 inhibitors and STING agonists.
STING agonists work by stimulating a pivotal protein known as STING, to trigger a robust response against cancer cells, mobilising and empowering diverse immune cells, including T cells, natural killer cells and dendritic cells.
The new research demonstrated that combining a Vps34 inhibitor with a STING agonist results in a potent double attack on tumours. This combination signifi cantly shrinks tumours and improves survival rates in preclinical studies, offering a potential paradigm shift in cancer treatment.
“This research offers a new hope for overcoming the several disappointments encountered in past clinical trials with STING agonists. By enhancing the STING pathway and circumventing cancer’s immune evasion strategies, we have the potential to develop durable and powerful new immunotherapies,” said Dr Bassam Janji, Head of the TIME group.
The full study was published in Molecular Oncology. More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/DZ6m
62602pr@reply-direct.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
