In the News

Research advances from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program (IRP) often make headlines. Read the news releases that describe our most recent findings:

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Yes, Cooking Can Help Improve Your Mental Health — Here’s What Health Professionals Have to Say About It

Food & Wine
November 7, 2024

The act of cooking offers the chance to unwind and create something special, whether you’re planning to feed a crowd or just yourself. And while you may have noticed feeling good after whipping up that perfect pie or braise, there’s actually a lot of scientific data to suggest that cooking can have a positive impact on mental health. 

One meta-analysis (a report of pre-existing research) from the National Institutes of Health looked at 11 studies and found that “cooking interventions” — encouraging people to follow certain recipes or giving people cooking classes — can improve a person’s mental well-being. It specifically found that people who participated in cooking interventions reported having better self-esteem and quality of life, as well as a more positive emotional state after the fact. Another study even discovered that baking can help raise a person’s confidence level. 

Scientists identify small-molecule cocktail to improve stem cell use in research and disease treatments

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have devised a four-part small-molecule cocktail that can protect stem cells called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from stress and maintain normal stem cell structure and function. The researchers suggest that the cocktail could enhance the potential therapeutic uses of stem cells, ranging from treating diseases and conditions — such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury — to genome editing.

Human pluripotent stem cells are cells that, in theory, can grow forever and serve as an inexhaustible source for specialized cells, such as brain, kidney and heart cells. But stem cells are sensitive, and their potential uses in medicine are hampered by the stress of growing in a cell culture dish, which can damage their DNA and lead to cell death.

In a series of experiments, scientists led by Ilyas Singeç, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Stem Cell Translation Laboratory at NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), used high-throughput screening to systematically test thousands of compounds and drugs to identify a unique combination that greatly improved stem cell survival and reduced cell culture stress. Singeç and his co-investigators described how they developed the cocktail, called CEPT, and its potential applications May 3 in Nature Methods.

“The small-molecule cocktail is safeguarding cells and making stem cell use more predictable and efficient. In preventing cellular stress and DNA damage that typically occur, we’re avoiding cell death and improving the quality of surviving cells,” said Singeç. “The cocktail will become a broadly used staple of the stem cell field and boost stem cell applications in both research and the clinic.”

International research teams explore genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation

In two landmark studies, researchers have used cutting-edge genomic tools to investigate the potential health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen, from the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. One study found no evidence that radiation exposure to parents resulted in new genetic changes being passed from parent to child. The second study documented the genetic changes in the tumors of people who developed thyroid cancer after being exposed as children or fetuses to the radiation released by the accident.

The findings, published around the 35th anniversary of the disaster, are from international teams of investigators led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The studies were published online in Science on April 22.

“Scientific questions about the effects of radiation on human health have been investigated since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and have been raised again by Chernobyl and by the nuclear accident that followed the tsunami in Fukushima, Japan,” said Stephen J. Chanock, M.D., director of NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG). “In recent years, advances in DNA sequencing technology have enabled us to begin to address some of the important questions, in part through comprehensive genomic analyses carried out in well-designed epidemiological studies.”

Experimental antiviral for COVID-19 effective in hamster study

MK-4482 shows potential to prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infection

The experimental antiviral drug MK-4482 significantly decreased levels of virus and disease damage in the lungs of hamsters treated for SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. MK-4482, delivered orally, is now in human clinical trials. Remdesivir, an antiviral drug already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use against COVID-19, must be provided intravenously, making its use primarily limited to clinical settings.

In their study, published in the journal Nature Communications, the scientists found MK-4482 treatment effective when provided up to 12 hours before or 12 hours after infecting the hamsters with SARS-CoV-2. These data suggest that MK-4482 treatment potentially could mitigate high-risk exposures to SARS-CoV-2, and might be used to treat established SARS-CoV-2 infection alone or possibly in combination with other agents.

The same research group, located at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, part of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Hamilton, Montana, developed the hamster model last year to mimic SARS-CoV-2 infection and mild disease in people. The University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom collaborated on these most recent studies.

scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (orange)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (gray) cultured in the lab.

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (orange)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (gray) cultured in the lab.

Most differences in DNA binding compounds found at birth in children conceived by IVF not seen in early childhood

NIH study results bolster previous studies finding no growth, development differences with IVF

Compared to newborns conceived traditionally, newborns conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are more likely to have certain chemical modifications to their DNA, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The changes involve DNA methylation — the binding of compounds known as methyl groups to DNA — which can alter gene activity. Only one of the modifications was seen by the time the children were 9 years old.

The study was conducted by Edwina Yeung, Ph.D., and colleagues in NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Previous studies by the research team found no differences in growth and development for this group.

“Our study found only small differences in DNA methylation at birth and these were not seen in early childhood,” Dr. Yeung said. “When considered along with our previous studies finding no differences in children’s growth and development, our current study should be reassuring to couples who have conceived with fertility treatments and to those considering these methods.”

Drug testing approach uncovers effective combination for treating small cell lung cancer

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have identified and tested a drug combination that exploits a weakness in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), an aggressive, dangerous cancer. The scientists targeted a vulnerability in how the cancer cells reproduce, increasing already high levels of replication stress ­­— a hallmark of out-of-control cell growth in many cancers that can damage DNA and force cancer cells to constantly work to repair themselves. In a small clinical trial, the drug duo shrank the tumors of SCLC patients. The team reported its findings April 12 in Cancer Cell.

While many patients with small cell lung cancer initially respond to chemotherapy, they lack an effective follow-up treatment. These patients usually live a matter of weeks after their first treatment stops working and their disease returns. Scientists at NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) teamed up to find another option to treat these cancers, which are part of a larger group of similar diseases called small cell neuroendocrine cancers.

“We wanted to identify novel drugs and combinations to leverage this vulnerability therapeutically,” said NCI’s Anish Thomas, M.D., who led the study. “We saw potential opportunities because the armamentarium of new chemicals and drugs was rapidly expanding.”

Small cell lung carcinoma cells

Small cell lung carcinoma cells

IRP scientists develop breath test for methylmalonic acidemia

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed a breath test that measures how well patients with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) respond to receiving liver or combined liver and kidney transplantation. Researchers also used the test to assess the severity of the disease in people and help determine if they would benefit from surgical or experimental genomic therapies that target the liver. The study results were published in Genetics in Medicine. Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) led the project team, with collaborators from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Institute of Mental Health.

MMA is a rare genomic disease that impairs the body’s ability to metabolize certain proteins and fats. This causes toxic substances to build up, which may result in kidney disease, pancreatitis, movement disorders, intellectual impairments, complications in many organs, and, in severe cases, death. One in 80,000 children born in the United States are diagnosed with MMA during newborn screenings. Currently, MMA is incurable, but people with MMA manage their symptoms through dietary restrictions and vitamin supplements. In extreme cases, patients receive liver or combined liver and kidney transplants, which help restore normal levels of metabolic proteins.

“Vast fluctuations in metabolic substances in the bodies of patients make it difficult for us to tell if treatments like genome editing and transplants are likely to be successful,” said Charles P. Venditti, M.D., Ph.D., senior author and senior investigator in the NHGRI Medical Genomics and Metabolic Genetics Branch. “Instead of looking at levels, we decided to measure metabolism itself.”

woman breathing out particles of carbon next to a picture of the liver

Breath test for methylmalonic acidemia measures disease severity and success of liver transplantation for patients.

T cells recognize recent SARS-CoV-2 variants

When variants of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) emerged in late 2020, concern arose that they might elude protective immune responses generated by prior infection or vaccination, potentially making re-infection more likely or vaccination less effective. To investigate this possibility, researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues analyzed blood cell samples from 30 people who had contracted and recovered from COVID-19 prior to the emergence of virus variants. They found that one key player in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 — the CD8+ T cell — remained active against the virus.

The research team was led by NIAID’s Andrew Redd, Ph.D., and included scientists from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Immunomics-focused company, ImmunoScape.

The investigators asked whether CD8+ T cells in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients, infected with the initial virus, could still recognize three SARS-CoV-2 variants: B.1.1.7, which was first detected in the United Kingdom; B.1.351, originally found in the Republic of South Africa; and B.1.1.248, first seen in Brazil. Each variant has mutations throughout the virus, and, in particular, in the region of the virus’ spike protein that it uses to attach to and enter cells. Mutations in this spike protein region could make it less recognizable to T cells and neutralizing antibodies, which are made by the immune system’s B cells following infection or vaccination.

Scanning electron micrograph of a human T lymphocyte (also called a T cell) from the immune system of a healthy donor

Scanning electron micrograph of a human T lymphocyte (also called a T cell) from the immune system of a healthy donor.

Younger age of first cannabis use or prescription drug misuse is associated with faster development of substance use disorders

A new study shows that in the time after first trying cannabis or first misusing prescription drugs, the percentages of young people who develop the corresponding substance use disorder are higher among adolescents (ages 12-17) than young adults (ages 18-25). In addition, 30 percent of young adults develop a heroin use disorder and 25 percent develop a methamphetamine use disorder a year after first using heroin or methamphetamine. These findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, emphasize the vulnerability of young people to developing substance use disorders.

The study was led by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

“We know that young people are more vulnerable to developing substance use disorders, but knowledge is limited on how the prevalence of specific substance use disorders varies by time since first substance use or misuse among adolescents and young adults in the United States,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, M.D., NIDA Director and a lead author of the analysis. “Though not everyone who uses a drug will develop addiction, adolescents may develop addiction to substances faster than young adults. This study provides further evidence that delaying substance exposure until the brain is more fully developed may lower risk for developing a substance use disorder.”

DNA damage “hot spots” discovered within neurons

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have discovered specific regions within the DNA of neurons that accumulate a certain type of damage (called single-strand breaks or SSBs). This accumulation of SSBs appears to be unique to neurons, and it challenges what is generally understood about the cause of DNA damage and its potential implications in neurodegenerative diseases.

Because neurons require considerable amounts of oxygen to function properly, they are exposed to high levels of free radicals — toxic compounds that can damage DNA within cells. Normally, this damage occurs randomly. However, in this study, damage within neurons was often found within specific regions of DNA called “enhancers” that control the activity of nearby genes.

Fully mature cells like neurons do not need all of their genes to be active at any one time. One way that cells can control gene activity involves the presence or absence of a chemical tag called a methyl group on a specific building block of DNA. Closer inspection of the neurons revealed that a significant number of SSBs occurred when methyl groups were removed, which typically makes that gene available to be activated.

Neurons (labeled in purple) show signs of an active DNA repair process (labeled in yellow). The cells’ DNA itself is labeled in cyan (in this image, overlap between cyan and yellow appears green).

Neurons (labeled in purple) show signs of an active DNA repair process (labeled in yellow). The cells’ DNA itself is labeled in cyan (in this image, overlap between cyan and yellow appears green).

Engineered immune cells deliver anticancer signal, prevent cancer from spreading

In a study of mice, treatment with the engineered cells shrank tumors and prevented the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body

Scientists have genetically engineered immune cells, called myeloid cells, to precisely deliver an anticancer signal to organs where cancer may spread. In a study of mice, treatment with the engineered cells shrank tumors and prevented the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. The study, led by scientists at the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Cancer Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, was published March 24, 2021, in Cell.

“This is a novel approach to immunotherapy that appears to have promise as a potential treatment for metastatic cancer,” said the study’s leader, Rosandra Kaplan, M.D., of NCI’s Center for Cancer Research.

Metastatic cancer — cancer that has spread from its original location to other parts of the body — is notoriously difficult to treat. Dr. Kaplan’s team has been exploring another approach: Preventing cancer from spreading in the first place.

immune cell attacking a tumor cell

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This page was last updated on Thursday, December 26, 2024