Search results for: Baylor Scott & White Research Institute

February 2021

BSWRI identifies new molecular pathway linking the tumor microenvironment and pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Baylor Scott & White Research Institute|Gastroenterology|Research

Tumorigenesis is a complex process regulated by multiple factors in the cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment. Because the microenvironment can accelerate tumor growth and contribute to therapeutic resistance, there is great interest in developing cancer therapeutics that directly target the microenvironment. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an important example of an aggressive and deadly cancer supported by an abundant microenvironment of non-malignant cells. Chemotherapies and targeted therapies only have modest efficacy against pancreatic adenocarcinoma, leading to an overall 5-year survival rate of 9%, and the microenvironment is thought to contribute to this drug resistance. Thus, the pancreatic tumor microenvironment is under active investigation as a source of new possibilities for therapeutic development.

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Eli Lilly’s BLAZE clinical trials offer new therapeutic insights for treating COVID-19

Baylor Scott & White Research Institute|COVID-19|Infectious Diseases|Research

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have been racing to identify therapeutics that prevent the progression of SARS-CoV-2 infection to serious disease. Although vaccine rollout is ongoing, SARS-CoV-2 infection rates are increasing nationwide and there is an urgent need for life-saving interventions.  Results of the BLAZE clinical trials involving LY-CoV555, an antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, provide context on these therapeutic possibilities. This research is being conducted through multiple Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI) sites across Texas.

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June 2020

Exploring a new one-step approach to creating cancer vaccines

Baylor Scott & White Research Institute|Research

Antigen presenting cells (APCs) of the immune system, such as dendritic cells, can stimulate naïve CD8+ effector T cells to identify and destroy tumors. Given this tremendous anti-tumor potential, there is great interest in harnessing the power of APCs for cancer immunotherapy. APC-based cancer therapies are considered vaccines in that they provoke the patient’s immune system to kill the tumor. However, efforts to develop APC-based cancer vaccines have produced limited success, partially due to suppression of APC function by the tumor environment. A research team at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI) examined a strategy to overcome these challenges by designing cancer vaccines from artificial APCs (aAPCs). 

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June 2020

Langerhans cells modify the epidermal cell environment

Baylor Scott & White Research Institute|Research

It is easy to envision the immune system as a “police force” that is separate from the organ systems and designed to only respond to threats. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that tissue-resident immune cells are more involved in organ homeostasis than previously thought. Recent work from researchers at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI) has shed light on the alternative functions of immune cells in the skin.

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June 2020

In Barrett’s epithelial cells, weakly acidic bile causes DNA damage with response and repair mediated by p38

Baylor Scott & White Research Institute|Baylor University Medical Center|Research

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can cause Barrett’s esophagus, a change in the lining of the esophagus that predisposes to a type of cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma.  It is thought that the reflux of strong acid and bile salts from the stomach into the esophagus contributes to the development of this cancer.  In an attempt to prevent esophageal adenocarcinoma, physicians prescribe proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for patients with Barrett’s esophagus.  These PPIs reduce the amount of acid produced by the stomach, but they do not stop the reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus.  The gastric contents of patients taking PPIs are weakly acidic and they contain bile salts, and our team at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute’s Center for Esophageal Research were concerned that this material still might be damaging to the esophagus.  

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