News archive

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with a lab in San Antonio USA, have uncovered how a specific population of lymphocytes promotes autoimmune disease by giving up their regulatory role in the immune system. The newly discovered mechanism is published in PNAS from research led by Dr. Saikiran Sedimbi and Prof. Mikael Karlsson.

When Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) infects a cell, the virus often becomes invisible to both the immune system and drugs. Now research from Karolinska Institutet shows that the integrated virus mimics a specific chromatin structure that lets the virus sequence remain accessible while preventing production of new viruses.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that MAIT cells (mucosa-associated invariant T cells), part of the human immune system, respond with dynamic activity and reprogramming of gene expression during the initial phase of HIV infection. The study fills a knowledge gap, as previously there has been a lack of awareness of the function of MAIT cells during this particular phase.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for patients with social anxiety not only helps to reduce anxiety levels but also seems to protect against accelerated cellular ageing, a study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Translational Psychiatry reports.

The search for a cure to AIDS has partly focused on ways to eradicate infected cells. Now, new research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. shows that this approach may not be necessary for a functional cure. In a study focusing on a subset of HIV-positive individuals who can live with the virus without needing treatment, the researchers found that these people’s lymphocytes suppress the virus but do not kill off infected cells.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new method for identifying which proteins are affected by specific drugs. The tool and the results it has already generated have been made freely available online. The method is described in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Researchers have long known that some genes can cause cancer when overactive, but exactly what happens inside the cell nucleus when the cancer grows has so far remained enigmatic. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a new mechanism that renders one canonical driver of cancer overactive. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, create conditions for brand new strategies to fight cancer.

Many people struggle to keep their weight in check as they get older. Now new research at Karolinska Institutet has uncovered why that is: Lipid turnover in the fat tissue decreases during ageing and makes it easier to gain weight, even if we don’t eat more or exercise less than before. The study is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Circadian biology is becoming a critical factor for improving drug efficacy and diminishing drug toxicity.

Dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid, may be more effective in protecting the auditory system when delivered during the active phase. A novel study shows how the time of the day impacts on the treatment outcome. The study is published in Current Biology and has been conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers from the global Human Cell Atlas Consortium report that they have sequenced a quarter of a million separate cells that are of importance for early development of organs such as the liver, skin and kidneys. Sten Linnarsson at Karolinska Institutet is participating in the project.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a new cell model for human brain helper cells known as astrocytes. The model could potentially be used in large-scale drug screening in the search for treatments for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The research is published in the scientific journal Stem Cell Reports.

A high percentage of KIF1Bβ means a greater chance of the tumour spontaneously regressing and disappearing. These are the results of a study by Karolinska Institutet (KI) and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd. The study is to be published in the scientific journal Genes and Development.

Reduction systems and protection of cells against oxidative stress are processes not entirely dependent on the electron carrier NADPH as generally believed. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Montana State University have now demonstrated how mice that are incapable of using the primary NADPH-dependent systems in their livers cope perfectly, as long as they get the amino acid methionine via their food. This discovery is published in the journal Nature Communications.