NEWS
A bacterial toxin can counteract colorectal cancer
A toxin secreted by cholera bacteria can inhibit the growth of colorectal cancer without causing any measurable damage to the body. This is shown by a new study by researchers at Umeå University, Sweden. Systemic administration of the purified bacterial substance changes the immune microenvironment in tumours, and the results may open the way for research into a new type of cancer treatment. “The substance not only kills cancer
cells directly. It reshapes the tumour environment and helps the immune system to work against the tumour without damaging healthy tissue,” says Sun Nyunt Wai (pictured), Professor at Umeå University and one of the lead authors behind the study, published recently in the journal Cell Death and Disease. The researchers
in Umeå have studied the cancer- inhibiting properties of the purified substance MakA,
a so-called cytotoxin secreted by the cholera bacterium Vibrio cholerae. In experiments with mice, it was possible to see that systemic administration of MakA significantly reduced the growth of the tumours. The substance accumulated
specifically in the tumour tissue, where it increased cell death of tumour cells and reduced their ability to increase in number. In parallel, MakA changed the composition of the cellular environment in tumours and increased the number of innate immune cells, especially macrophages and neutrophils, which in turn contributed to inhibiting tumour growth. The treatment did not lead to any harmful inflammation in mice. No adverse effects on body weight, general health, or the function of vital organs could be seen even after repeated dosing. This suggests that the effect of MakA is local and specifically targeted at tumours. Li L, Evain P, Phillips MT, et al. A bacterial toxin as a novel anti- cancer drug modulating the tumor- microenvironment. Cell Death Dis. 2025;16(1):874. doi:10.1038/s41419-025- 08219-2
Next-generation tuberculosis assay
Diasorin and QIAGEN have announced the launch of the new CE-marked LIAISON QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus II, a next- generation assay that redefines speed and throughput as an aid in the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection on LIAISON analyser systems.
The new assay enables laboratories
to test up to 75% more patients per hour and achieve a 25% faster turnaround time compared to the previous version. This marks a major advance in workflow efficiency and productivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis diagnostics, combining QIAGEN’s gold-standard QuantiFERON technology with Diasorin’s high-throughput LIAISON platforms — giving laboratories a faster, more efficient solution to meet growing global demand for TB testing. Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI)
affects roughly 25% of the world’s population, with up to 10% at risk of progressing to active disease if untreated. Faster, scalable testing is essential to achieving World Health Organization targets for TB elimination. The new LIAISON QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus II provides
laboratories with a powerful tool to expand screening access and strengthen global TB prevention efforts. “With the new LIAISON QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus II, we are equipping laboratories with a powerful, high-throughput tool to meet growing global demand for TB testing,” commented Chen Even PhD, Chief Commercial Officer of Diasorin. “This next- generation solution optimises the world’s leading latent TB test for automated, high-volume environments. It enables laboratories to screen more at-risk patients efficiently, helping prevent progression to active TB and advancing global TB control initiatives.”
Inflammatory immune cells predict survival/relapse in multiple myeloma
Researchers at WashU Medicine and their collaborators have created an immune cell atlas of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. The new resource could improve prognosis and guide development of new immunotherapies. This large immune cell atlas, which
includes robust patient outcome data, provides new insights into how the immune system interacts with cancerous plasma cells and can be used to determine how aggressive a patient’s multiple myeloma is likely to be. Co-led by researchers at Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis in collaboration with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and other leading institutions across the country, the study was published recently in the journal Nature Cancer. Several of the newest therapies for multiple myeloma are immune system- based, including CAR-T cells and what
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WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM February 2026
are known as bispecific antibodies. But researchers suspect there may yet be untapped opportunities for immune-based treatments for multiple myeloma, and the immune cell atlas is a new tool to harness in pursuit of such therapies. The research team performed a
rigorous and cuting-edge genetic analysis called single-cell RNA sequencing of almost 1.4 million individual plasma and immune cells in bone marrow sampled from 337 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. This type of analysis can reveal how individual immune cells may function - or become dysfunctional - in the context of multiple myeloma. Pilcher WC, Yao L, Gonzalez-Kozlova E, et al. A single-cell atlas characterizes dysregulation of the bone marrow immune microenvironment associated with outcomes in multiple myeloma. Nat Cancer. 2026 Jan 9. doi:10.1038/s43018-025- 01072-4.
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