Medical Bulletin 27/December/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

Stressful events in pregnancy may increase risk of childhood asthma and wheeze

Maternal stressful life events during pregnancy may increase risk of childhood asthma and wheeze suggests a new study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Studies have linked prenatal maternal psychosocial stress to childhood wheeze/asthma but have rarely investigated factors that may mitigate risks.

Participants included 2056 mother-child dyads from ECHO PATHWAYS, a consortium of three prospective pregnancy cohorts (CANDLE, TIDES, and GAPPS) from six cities. Maternal stressful life events experienced during pregnancy (PSLEs) were reported using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System SLE questionnaire. Parents reported child wheeze/asthma outcomes at age 4-6 years using standardized questionnaires.

Reference: Margaret A. Adgent, Erin Buth, Amanda Noroña-Zhou, Adam A. Szpiro, Christine T. Loftus, Paul E. Moore, Rosalind J. Wright, Emily S. Barrett, Kaja Z. LeWinn, Qi Zhao, Ruby Nguyen, Catherine J. Karr, Nicole R. Bush, Kecia N. Carroll. Maternal stressful life events during pregnancy and childhood asthma and wheeze,Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2023.12.015.

Researcher helps boost immune system memory against influenza

Researchers are one step closer to making the T cell army stronger. In a recent study, researchers found that by manipulating one molecular signaling pathway in the T cells that participate in clearing influenza virus in the lungs, the strength and longevity of immunological memory produced can be improved.

When humans or animals get infected, the body's immune system tries to not only clear the infection but also build up a memory of the pathogen that caused it. So, when the pathogen comes around again for possible reinfection, the body has an army of memory T cells that can recognize and destroy it. These T cells are a critical part of immunological memory, and an important component of efficient vaccines.

Reference: Curtis J. Pritzl, Dezzarae Luera, Karin M. Knudson, Michael J. Quaney, Michael J. Calcutt, Mark A. Daniels, Emma Teixeiro. IKK2/NFkB signaling controls lung resident CD8+ T cell memory during influenza infection. Nature Communications, 2023; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40107-1

New cause of diabetes discovered, offering potential target for new classes of drugs to treat the disease

Researchers have identified an enzyme that blocks insulin produced in the body -- a discovery that could provide a new target to treat diabetes. The study, released on December 5 in the journal cell, focuses on nitric oxide, a compound that dilates blood vessels, improves memory, fights infection and stimulates the release of hormones, among other functions. How nitric oxide performs these activities had long been a mystery.

The researchers discovered a novel "carrier" enzyme (called SNO-CoA-assisted nitrosylase, or SCAN) that attaches nitric oxide to proteins, including the receptor for insulin action.

Reference: Hua-Lin Zhou, Zachary W. Grimmett, Nicholas M. Venetos, Colin T. Stomberski, Zhaoxia Qian, Precious J. McLaughlin, Puneet K. Bansal, Rongli Zhang, James D. Reynolds, Richard T. Premont, Jonathan S. Stamler. An enzyme that selectively S-nitrosylates proteins to regulate insulin signaling. Cell, 2023; DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.009