The gut microbiome interacts with the loss of female sex hormones to exacerbate metabolic disease, including weight gain, fat in the liver and the expression of genes linked with inflammation, researchers found in a new rodent study.

The findings, published in the journal Gut Microbes, may shed light on why women are at significantly greater risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes after menopause, when ovarian production of female sex hormones diminishes.

Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is the most common form of breast cancer, affecting approximately 75% of breast cancer patients. In advanced and metastatic form, it is lethal, claiming the lives of nearly 350,000 individuals annually. Presently, no drug is able to eradicate these advanced tumors.

The Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) is reshaping its core leadership team, including three transitions in leadership positions by IGB members.

These changes reflect the institute’s continued evolution and build upon its history of research and education excellence. The new positions also underscore the CCIL’s strong commitment to leadership development and the growth of some of the institute’s most visionary members. Each new appointee contributed significantly to CCIL research, education, and outreach initiatives.

Scientists have identified a protein that plays a critical role in the action of several emerging cancer therapies. The researchers say the discovery will likely aid efforts to fine-tune the use of immunotherapies against several challenging cancers. They report their findings in the journal Cancer Research. 

Kathure Mugambi is a senior undergraduate student in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She is also the undergraduate assistant for the IGB Lunchbox series.

Growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Kathure Mugambi wanted to be a marine biologist. Even when she was in kindergarten, she would tell everyone about her interest. “I’m not sure if I knew exactly what it was, but I thought it sounded cool,” Mugambi said. Her interest in science stayed with her throughout her life, which led her to join the MCB program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Several days following the Federal Drug Administration’s approval of a new cancer drug, Erik Nelson (ACPP) was still processing the news.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet that this is actually happening,” he said from his breast cancer research lab in Burrill Hall. “This is why I get up every morning: to hopefully impact a patient's life.”

Breast cancer is categorized into three major subtypes: hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative. Although there are targeted therapeutic approaches for the first two, there are limited options for triple negative-breast cancer patients. In a new study, researchers have discovered that the nuclear receptor TLX can potentially be used for therapeutic intervention.

A new approach to treating breast cancer kills 95-100% of cancer cells in mouse models of human estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers and their metastases in bone, brain, liver and lungs. The newly developed drug, called ErSO, quickly shrinks even large tumors to undetectable levels.

Led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the research team reports the findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Scientists working to understand the cellular processes linking high cholesterol to breast cancer recurrence and metastasis report that a byproduct of cholesterol metabolism causes some cells to send out cancer-promoting signals to other cells. These signals are packaged in membrane-bound compartments called extracellular vesicles.

Researchers who focus on fat know that some adipose tissue is more prone to inflammation-related comorbidities than others, but the reasons why are not well understood. Thanks to a new analytical technique, scientists are getting a clearer view of the microenvironments found within adipose tissue associated with obesity. This advance may illuminate why some adipose tissues are more prone to inflammation – leading to diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disorders – and help direct future drug therapies to treat obesity.