2013-01-17
Welcome to “This Week in Blood,” a weekly snapshot of the hottest studies from each week’s issue of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), hand-picked by Blood Editor-in-Chief Bob Löwenberg, MD, and Deputy Editor Nancy Berliner, MD. If you would like a PDF copy of any of the manuscripts highlighted below or would like to request an interview with the author, please email aslesinski@hematology.org.
Clinical regressions and broad immune activation following combination therapy targeting human NKT cells in myeloma, Ritcher et al.
The results discussed in this manuscript provide strong evidence that combination therapy consisting of low-dose lenalidomide and lipid antigen-pulsed dendritic cells has a broad stimulatory effect on the cells of innate and adaptive immunity (also known as “natural killer” T-cells) in patients with multiple myeloma. This manuscript suggests that combination therapy targeting invariant natural killer T-cells represents a novel treatment modality for cancer that produces qualitatively different effects from those observed in prior clinical trials.
Role of SOX17 in hematopoietic development from human embryonic stem cells, Nakajima-Takagi et al.
Regulation of hemogenic endothelium is currently a central question in developmental hematopoiesis. Few factors are known to be involved, and those that are known have only been identified in mice. The authors of this manuscript demonstrate that Sox17 is such a factor, identifying the first factor from endothelium in human cells that regulates the generation of blood cells.
Antibacterial effect of microvesicles released from human neutrophilic granulocytes, Timár et al
For the first time, investigators show with considerable molecular detail that neutrophils release microvesicles into the circulation that inhibit bacterial growth.
Reporters who wish to receive a copy of any of the manuscripts highlighted above or would like to request an interview with the authors may contact Andrea Slesinski at 202-552-4927 or aslesinski@hematology.org.
Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field of hematology, is available weekly in print and online. Blood is the official journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (www.hematology.org), the world’s largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders.
ASH’s mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.
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