https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics For more than a decade, a class of drugs called BET inhibitors has been tested in cancer trials with high expectations. The biology looked promising. Many cancers depend on oncogenes that "Bromo- and Extra-Terminal domain" (BET) proteins help activate, so blocking BET proteins should slow tumor growth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-anti-cancer-drugs.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:04 EDT news694857961 Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg and ETH Zurich have created the first integrated map detailing the metabolic and molecular changes in human blood stem cells as they age, specialize, or turn cancerous. Their innovative research, made possible by highly sensitive low-input techniques, identifies the nutrient choline as a key player in preserving youthful stem cell traits. This work offers profound insights into stem cell health and disease, suggesting promising directions for nutritional and therapeutic interventions to maintain a healthy blood system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-blood-stem-cell-metabolism-tracked.html Immunology Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:00:03 EDT news671792198 Deep within our nerve cells, a molecule is at work that has no beginning and no end. Instead of a straight chain, as is common for most RNA strands, it forms a closed loop. Known as circular RNAs (circRNAs), these molecules are crucial for development, thought, and synaptic function, yet their high prevalence in neurons has long been a scientific mystery. How does the brain produce so many of them? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-elav-protein-brain-unique-circular.html Genetics Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:58:04 EDT news668786281 Known for their role in allergic reactions, mast cells have long been recognized as key players in our immune system. When they encounter allergens, they release chemicals that trigger typical allergy symptoms such as tissue swelling and inflammation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-scientists-mast-cells-neutrophils-allergic.html Immunology Fri, 02 Aug 2024 11:00:03 EDT news641802440 During the process of cell division, new daughter cells inherit a mix of genetic material and other molecules from their mother cells. This inheritance includes both beneficial components, which can help them for a robust start in life, and potentially harmful mutations or damaged molecules, posing significant challenges for the newly born daughter cells. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-dhx9-stress-granules-daughter-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 18 Mar 2024 11:00:01 EDT news629973348 Have you ever wondered why we carry two copies of each chromosome in all of our cells? During reproduction, we receive one from each of our parents. This means that we also receive two copies, or alleles, of each gene—one allele per chromosome or parent. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reveals-clever-dosage-mechanism-biallelic.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620476142 The intricate control of cellular metabolism relies on the coordinated and harmonious interplay between the nucleus and mitochondria. On the one hand, mitochondria are the hub for the production of essential metabolites, which aside from being required to meet the energy demands of the cell, also serve as the building blocks for constructing both genetic and epigenetic landscapes in the nucleus. On the other hand, the majority of mitochondrial metabolic enzymes are encoded by the nuclear genome, making the function of these two organelles highly interdependent on one another. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-epigenetic-mof-mitochondrial-metabolism.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 09 Oct 2023 11:00:01 EDT news616064244 Cilia are thin, eyelash-like extensions on the surface of cells. They perform a wide variety of functions, acting as mechanosensors or chemosensors, and play a crucial role in many signaling pathways. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-secrets-cilia-nsl-complex-intraciliary.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 25 Aug 2023 14:00:01 EDT news612172156 Each gene in our DNA has a beginning and an end. Defining the gene's extremities properly is crucial in producing functional protein. Much research has been done to identify what determines when, where, and at which site on the DNA a gene "starts." But where a gene ends is a different story—selection of transcription termination sites has been assumed to depend on downstream elements and extrinsic factors. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-predefine-genes.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 12 May 2023 11:00:02 EDT news603100606 Macrophages are key cells of our innate immune response. By populating almost all tissues in our body, these cells have an essential role in maintaining our organs in a healthy state, as they constantly remove dying cells or eliminate microbes that have invaded tissues. As cells specialized in eating and devouring, macrophages are exceptionally well adapted to take up, digest and destroy foreign material. https://phys.org/news/2022-07-crosstalk-organelles-restricts-growth-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 21 Jul 2022 11:31:06 EDT news577621862 The thymus is a crucial organ of the immune system. In the thymus, the well-known T cells mature: As killer cells, they recognize and destroy virus-infected or malignant cells, and as so-called helper T cells they assist the body in antibody formation. In the last decades, Thomas Boehm's research group at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has identified the genetic switches required for T cell maturation in the thymus. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-secrets-thymus-formation-revealed.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 25 May 2022 13:42:12 EDT news572704927 Chemotherapy is widely used to treat cancer patients. During the treatment, chemotherapeutic agents affect various biochemical processes to kill or reduce the growth of cancer cells, which divide uncontrollably in patients. However, the cell-damaging effect of chemotherapy affects cancer cells but also in principle many other cell types, including cycling blood cells. This puts the hematopoietic system under severe stress and pushes hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow to produce fresh cells and replenish the stable pool of differentiated blood cells in the body. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-junk-rna-chemotherapy-blood-regeneration.html Oncology & Cancer Mon, 12 Jul 2021 13:46:01 EDT news545316357 The transition from single-cell to multicellular organisms was a major step in the evolution of complex life forms. Multicellular organisms arose hundreds of millions of years ago, but the forces underlying this event remain mysterious. To investigate the origins of multicellularity, Erika Pearce's group at the MPI of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg turned to the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, which can exist in both a unicellular and a multicellular state, lying on the cusp of this key evolutionary step. These dramatically different states depend on just one thing—food. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-sulfur-metabolism-paved-evolution-multicellularity.html Evolution Wed, 24 Feb 2021 11:00:08 EST news533383459 All life on earth evolved multiple layers and networks of ensuring survival upon catastrophic events. Even cells have their emergency plan: the heat shock response. Triggered by multiple stress stimuli such as heat, toxins, or radiation, this cellular safety program tries to prevent permanent damage to the organism. The response resembles an overall adopted 'lockdown' strategy witnessed during the global corona virus pandemic. During a lockdown, only essential activities are permitted and resources were diverted towards measures ensuring minimizing the impact of a pandemic. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-protein-condensation-gene-survival-stressed.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:51:20 EST news531751874 Human females have two X chromosomes, and males only one. This chromosome imbalance also extends to other branches of the animal kingdom. Interestingly, the humble fruit fly has devised a different way to 'equalize' these differences. Whereas human and mouse females shut down one of their X chromosomes, in fruit flies it instead the male doing the work. An epigenetic factor known as the MSL complex binds to the single male X chromosome and uses its histone acetylation function to hyperactivate the X to try to reach RNA production levels equivalent to those achieved by the two X chromosomes carried by females. If this process fails, male flies die. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-gel-dosage-compensation.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:55:29 EST news524922926 The immune system is equipped with numerous cell types that effectively fight the various pathogens, humans can encounter during their lives. T cells, for example, have a receptor through which they can specifically recognize and bind antigens. However, in recent decades, cell types with similar protective properties have been discovered that do not possess a specific antigen receptor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-innate-lymphoid-cells-regenerate-lung.html Immunology Wed, 30 Sep 2020 12:23:32 EDT news520687406 Deep-sea anglerfishes employ an incredible reproductive strategy. Tiny dwarfed males become permanently attached to relatively gigantic females, fuse their tissues and then establish a common blood circulation. In this way, the male becomes entirely dependent on the female for nutrient supply, like a developing fetus in the womb of her mother or a donor organ in a transplant patient. In anglerfishes, this unusual phenomenon is referred to as sexual parasitism and contributes to the reproductive success for these animals living in the vast space of the deep sea, where females and males otherwise rarely meet. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-immune-functions-reproductive-success.html Genetics Thu, 30 Jul 2020 14:00:02 EDT news515320048 The brain is our most energy-hungry and metabolically active organ. It is responsible for our thoughts, ideas, movement and ability to learn. Our brain is powered by 600 km of blood vessels that bring it nutrients and remove waste products. However, the brain is also very fragile. Thus, the blood vessels in the brain have evolved to form a tight protective barrier—the blood-brain barrier—that restricts the movement of molecules in and out of the brain. It is essential that the brain can regulate its environment. On the one hand, pathogens or toxins are effectively prevented from entering the brain, but on the other hand, required messengers or nutrients can pass through them unhindered. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-brothers-arms-brain-blood-vessels.html Medical research Mon, 15 Jun 2020 12:55:12 EDT news511444509 Parents pass genes along to their offspring traits that equip them for life. In recent years, research has shown that the reality is much more complex and that parents endow much more than just genes. A new study in Cell by the laboratory of Asifa Akhtar at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics reveals that active epigenetic modifications are also passed from one generation to the next. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-mothers-offspring-success-epigenetics.html Evolution Thu, 04 Jun 2020 11:00:04 EDT news510480053 On average, the human body contains 35 trillion red blood cells (RBCs). Approximately three million of these small disc-shaped cells die in one second. But in this second, the same number is also produced to maintain the level of active RBCs. Interestingly, all of these cells undergo a multi-level differentiation process called erythropoiesis. They start from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the precursors to every blood cell including all types of immune cells, and differentiate then, firstly, into multipotent progenitor cells (MPPs) followed by a gradual process of specialization into mature red blood cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-scientists-epigenetic-mechanisms-blood-cell.html Medical research Wed, 20 May 2020 14:00:01 EDT news509198223 Adaptive immunity is a powerful defense mechanism in vertebrates. A finely tuned interplay of different cell types provides a pathogen-specific immune response to eliminate for example bacteria and viruses. Max Planck researchers now identify the mechanistic basis of antigen receptor gene assembly that more than 500 million years ago independently evolved in one of the two sister branches of vertebrates. The results by the scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg are an important step to answering the question which of the many functions that are carried out by the immune system of living vertebrates are absolutely essential. The findings may help to understand the causes and consequences of failing immune functions and autoimmune syndromes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-principles-vertebrate-immunity.html Immunology Fri, 13 Mar 2020 14:00:05 EDT news503312627 The genetic material of each mammalian cell is safeguarded within the cell's nucleus. In healthy organisms, the usually round-shaped nucleus gets its stability from the nuclear envelope and the nuclear lamina. The latter is a network of proteins sandwiched between the inner nuclear envelope and the DNA, and largely shapes nuclear form. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-earthquake-cell-scientists-modification-nuclear.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 01 Oct 2019 12:57:50 EDT news489153464 The liver is one of the largest and most versatile organs of the human body. It turns sugars, proteins, and fats from our food into substances useful for the body and releases them to the cells. In addition to its role in human metabolism, the liver is an immunological organ, which is indispensable for detoxifying the blood. Most strikingly, the liver is the only internal organ that can regenerate back to its full size with only 25% of its original mass. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-scientists-previously-unknown-subtypes-liver.html Medical research Wed, 10 Jul 2019 13:12:54 EDT news481983129