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:
A National Institutes of Health study found that non-invasive brain stimulation decreased calorie consumption and increased weight loss in adults who are obese. The findings suggest a possible intervention for obesity, when combined with healthy eating and exercise. Results were published in Obesity concurrent with a presentation at the 2015 Obesity Society meeting.
In-home test kits, coupled with patient education, help parents reduce allergen levels in their homes, according to scientists from the National Institutes of Health. The researchers found that parents may become more motivated to participate in allergen reduction interventions, when they can actually see results for themselves.
The scientists specifically looked at dust mites, microscopic relatives of the spider, that live in dust on mattresses, bedding, upholstered furniture, carpets, curtains, and other soft furnishings. Dust mites contain allergens known to trigger symptoms in people who are allergic to them, and especially those with asthma.
Scientists at the Frederick National Lab have produced three crystal structures that reveal a specific part of a protein that can be targeted to fight the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which causes an emerging viral respiratory illness.
Senior Investigator David Waugh, Ph.D., Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, has solved the structure of an enzyme known as the 3C-like protease (3CLpro), which, if blocked, can prevent the virus from replicating. Waugh’s lab used X-ray crystallography to produce detailed three-dimensional views of the enzyme that depict the entire structure, including the site that the enzyme uses to bind to other molecules. The binding site is an attractive target for inhibitors that could disable the enzyme and, thus, stop the virus from spreading.
Variation in the BDNF gene may affect brain’s regulation of appetite, study suggests
A single variation in the gene for brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) may influence obesity in children and adults, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study suggests that a less common version of the BDNF gene may predispose people to obesity by producing lower levels of BDNF protein, a regulator of appetite, in the brain. The authors propose that boosting BDNF protein levels may offer a therapeutic strategy for people with the genetic variation, which tends to occur more frequently in African Americans and Hispanics, than in non-Hispanic Caucasians. The study is published in the journal Cell Reports.
The National Institutes of Health is strengthening its efforts to advance research on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a disease for which an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment have remained elusive. The actions being taken include launching a research protocol at the NIH Clinical Center to intensely study individuals with ME/CFS and re-invigorating the efforts of the long-standing Trans-NIH ME/CFS Research Working Group with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) as the lead of a multi-institute research effort.
Approximately 23 percent of U.S. adults ages 40 and older report having had a problem with their ability to smell, and about 19 percent report having had a problem with their ability to taste, according to a recently published study. Conducted by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study examines the first collection of nationally representative, population-based survey data of middle-aged and older adults on perceived smell and taste problems, related risk factors, and treatments.
For the first time, scientists have used gene therapy to correct defective structures in the inner ears of newborn mice, according to results of a new study by researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health. The mice had a type of hereditary deafness also found in humans.
Hair cells are small sensory cells of the inner ear that transform sound vibrations into nerve impulses. After sound waves enter the inner ear’s cochlea, they produce waves in a fluid layer. The waves lift the overlying hair cells, and bend tiny hair-like structures on the hair cell surfaces—called stereocilia—by driving them into an overlying membrane. Bending the stereocilia triggers an electrical signal that is sent to the brain and interpreted as sound.
An international team of scientists co-led by researchers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is reporting the discovery of nearly 1,500 age-related genes, most of which have not been previously identified. The study, one of the largest of its kind to explore genes associated with aging, could spark new insights into the aging process and age-related chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke. The findings could, for example, provide new targets for developing drugs to delay or prevent age-related diseases. The study, which is partly funded by the NHLBI, appears in the online issue of Nature Communications.
New Cas enzymes shed light on evolution of CRISPR-Cas systems
An international team of CRISPR-Cas researchers has identified three new naturally-occurring systems that show potential for genome editing. The discovery and characterization of these systems is expected to further expand the genome editing toolbox, opening new avenues for biomedical research. The research, published today in the journal Molecular Cell, was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.
“This work shows a path to discovery of novel CRISPR-Cas systems with diverse properties, which are demonstrated here in direct experiments,” said Eugene Koonin, Ph.D., senior investigator at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the NIH. “The most remarkable aspect of the story is how evolution has achieved a broad repertoire of biological activities, a feat we can take advantage of for new genome manipulation tools.”
Recent research has yielded new information about immune responses associated with—and potentially responsible for—protection from HIV infection, providing leads for new strategies to develop an HIV vaccine. Results from the RV144 trial, reported in 2009, provided the first signal of HIV vaccine efficacy: a 31 percent reduction in HIV infection among vaccinees. Since then, an international research consortium has been searching for molecular clues to explain why the vaccine showed this modest protective effect.
A new review outlines findings that hint at the types of immune responses a preventive HIV vaccine may need to induce. The article was co-authored by leaders in HIV vaccinology, including Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, and lead author Lawrence Corey, M.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
