Thousands of bacterial and other microbial species live in the human gut, supporting healthy digestion, immunity, metabolism and other functions. Precisely how these microbes are protected from immune attack has been unclear, but now a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators has found that this immune “tolerance” to gut microbes depends on an ancient bacterial-sensing protein called STING—normally considered a trigger for inflammation. The surprising result could lead to new...
Bacteria naturally present in the human intestine, known as the gut microbiota, can transform cholesterol-derived bile acids into powerful metabolites that strengthen anti-cancer immunity by blocking androgen signaling, according to a preclinical study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The study was published on April 15 in Cell.“I was very...
A new preclinical study published Jan. 2 in Nature Immunology may lead to therapies that target the earliest stages of cancer, bolstering the idea the inflammasome has a dual role—that while promotes inflammation associated with poor outcomes in late cancer stages, early on it can help prevent cells from becoming cancerous in the first place.“What was striking was that the innate immune system, which includes the inflammasome, has a role beyond infection,” said lead author Dr. Julie...
A new multi-institution study led in part by Dr. Robert Schwartz, a virologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, is striving to answer a key biological question: how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is able to establish infection in liver cells.The research – led in conjunction with teams lead by chemical biologist Dr. Yael David at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Dr. Viviana Risca at The Rockefeller University -...
People with Crohn’s disease and related joint inflammation linked to immune system dysfunction have distinct gut bacteria or microbiota, with the bacterium Mediterraneibacter gnavus being a potential biomarker, according to new study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.The study, published Feb. 13 in Gut Microbes, also demonstrated that the gut microbiota of people with Crohn’s and axial spondyloarthritis, which is joint inflammation of the spine and lower back, differs from...
Dr. Clement Richard Boland, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of San Diego, received the Charles Maltz, M.D., Ph.D. Excellence in Teaching Award by the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology in the Weill Department of Medicine during a special reception Feb. 12.The award is bestowed in memory of Dr. Charles Maltz, a faculty member in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology for nearly 30 years. A pillar...
Almost 50 million Americans—disproportionately in rural areas—must drive 25 miles or more to access a gastroenterologist for diagnosis and treatment of issues involving the digestive system, according to a study from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers led by Dr. Arun Jesudian, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Dr. Jesuidan is a transplant hepatologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. ...
Beneficial gut microbes and the body work together to fine-tune fat metabolism and cholesterol levels, according to a new preclinical study by investigators from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University’s Ithaca campus.The human body has co-evolved with the beneficial microbes that live in the gut (termed the microbiota), resulting in mutually favorable relationships that aid in the digestion of food and absorption of essential nutrients required...
Severe COVID-19 arises in part from the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s impact on mitochondria, tiny oxygen-burning power plants in cells, which can help trigger a cascade of organ- and immune system-damaging events, suggests a study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, along with other members of the COVID-19 International Research Team.Severe COVID-19 has been considered an...
A fungus discovered in the mouse stomach may hold a key to fungal evolution within the gastrointestinal tract, according to new research led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The finding suggests that preclinical studies until now have overlooked a major influencer of mouse physiology.Scientists recently have come to appreciate the importance, for human health and disease, of microbes—often called “commensals”—that naturally dwell in the gut. Bacterial commensals, for example,...
