March 2019 digital v1

hours per week. This association was
observed among participants without
a CRC family history and was more
pronounced for rectal cancer. Overweight
or obese participants were pronounced
to be more susceptible. Researchers
suggest further studies to be conducted
to elucidate the underlying biological
mechanism that may explain this
phenomenon.
Biomarkers open new gateways
towards precision medicine for pain
Niculescu et al open door towards
precision medicine for pain,
with the objective to determine
the severity of a patient’s suffering.
The study tracked hundreds of
participants to identify biomarkers
that can help determine the severity
of a patient’s pain. The researchers
were able to find a handful of genes
that correlated to pain state and of
future emergency department (ED)
visits for pain. The genes which the
scientists were able to correlate with
pain were MFAP3, GNG7, CNTN1,
LY9, CCDC144B, and GBP1. Using
bioinformatic drug repurposing
analyses, they were able to find
novel drug compounds that would
selectively target these genes and
could be used to not only measure
pain level but also inform the drug
discovery process to use these
genetic biomarkers to create more
personalized treatments for pain.
MFAP3, which had no prior evidence
in the literature for involvement
in pain, showed the most robust
empirical evidence acting as a strong
predictor for pain in the independent
cohorts. The breakthrough research
could help overcome the massive
negative impact of untreated pain
on quality of life, helping determine
the appropriateness of treatment,
and the severe addiction gateway
potential of existing opioid-based
pain medications.
Source:MolecularPsychiatry(2019) https://
www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0345-
5#Sec23
Source: JNCI Cancer Spectrum, Volume 2, Issue 4,
1 November 2018, pky073,https://doi.org/10.1093/
jncics/pky073
Transplanted β cells
rapidly restore glucose
tolerance in mice
Leonardo Velazco-Cruz et al
demonstrated a breakthrough study
by converting human pluripotent stem
cells (hPSCs) into stem cell-derived
β cells (SC-β cells) as a promising
alternative source for diabetes cell
replacement therapy. The researchers
developed functioning healthy SC-β
cells in vitro using an enriched serumfree
media. On transplanting them into
mice, the cells began to produce insulin
and respond to blood sugar within
days. Researchers introduced a new
differentiation strategy which focused
on modulating transforming growth
factor β (TGF-β) signaling. This helps
in controlling cellular cluster size, and
express β cell markers and undergo GSIS
(glucose stimulated-insulin secretion).
The capacity of these cells to undergo
GSIS with dynamic insulin release makes
them a promising cell source for diabetes
cellular therapy. This study provides
insights into the role of TGF-β signaling
in functional maturation where TGF-β
inhibition has been shown to promote
the replication of the cells. This helped
protect against stress-induced loss of the
phenotype and reduced apoptosis in a
mouse model, which give hope
for developing a potential cure for
treating type 1 diabetes in the near
future.
Source: Stem Cell Reports | VOLUME 12, ISSUE
2, P351-365, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.
stemcr.2018.12.012
—Compiled by Divya Choyikutty
58 / FUTURE MEDICINE / March 2019