Tag: Medicine

Saving Lives with Artificial Intelligence

Written by AUFTAU on 9 December 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Blood infections are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. The body’s immunological response to the infection can cause sepsis or shock, dangerous conditions that have high mortality rates. Thus, it is very important to identify the risk factors for developing serious illness at the early stage of infection. A new technology developed at Tel Aviv University will make it possible, using artificial intelligence (AI), to identify patients who are at risk of serious illness as a result of blood infections.

The researchers trained the AI program to study the medical records of about 8,000 patients at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital who were found to be positive for blood infections. These records included demographic data, blood test results, medical history and diagnosis. After studying each patient’s data and medical history, the program was able to automatically identify patients at risk of serious illness with an accuracy of 82%, even when ignoring obvious factors such as the age of the patients and the number of hospitalizations they had endured. According to the researchers, in the future this model could even serve as an early warning system for doctors.

Potential to Save Many Lives

Behind this groundbreaking research, with the potential to save many lives, are students Yazeed Zoabi and Dan Lahav from the laboratory of Prof. Noam Shomron of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine, in collaboration with Dr. Ahuva Weiss Meilik, head of the I-Medata AI Center at Ichilov Hospital, Prof. Amos Adler, and Dr. Orli Kehat. The results of the study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“We worked with the medical files of about 8,000 Ichilov Hospital patients who were found to be positive for blood infections between the years 2014 and 2020, during their hospitalization and up to 30 days after, whether the patient died or not,” explains Prof. Noam Shomron. “We entered the medical files into software based on artificial intelligence; we wanted to see if the AI would identify patterns of information in the files that would allow us to automatically predict which patients would develop serious illness, or even death, as a result of the infection.”

Cooperation between Researchers and Hospitals

“Using artificial intelligence, the algorithm was able to find patterns that surprised us, parameters in the blood that we hadn’t even thought about taking into account,” says Prof. Shomron. “We are now working with medical staff to understand how this information can be used to rank patients in terms of the severity of the infection. We can use the software to help doctors detect the patients who are at maximum risk.”

Since the study’s success, Ramot – Tel Aviv University Tech Transfer Company, is working to register a global patent for the groundbreaking technology. Keren Primor Cohen, CEO of Ramot, says, “Ramot believes in this innovative technology’s ability to bring about a significant change in the early identification of patients at risk and help hospitals reduce costs. This is an example of effective cooperation between the university’s researchers and hospitals, which improves the quality of medical care in Israel and around the world.”

Featured image: Prof. Noam Shomron (Photo: Corinna Kern)

TAU Experts on Omicron: “Don’t Panic”

Written by AUFTAU on 7 December 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Our COVID-19 researchers weigh in on the latest strain.

As scientists race to understand the newest Omicron variant of COVID-19, Tel Aviv University experts share insights—largely reassuring—on the situation. The latest coronavirus strain dominating headlines was first discovered in South Africa in November. Cases have since emerged around the globe, including in Israel. Under the auspices of TAU’s Center for Combating Pandemics, dozens of teams across campus are contributing to global efforts to understand and combat the pandemic. Here is what they are saying about Omicron:

“Keep Calm and Carry On”— with Protection

Amid the media maelstrom and uncertainty surrounding Omicron, Dr. Oren Kobiler of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine proscribes the popular adage “keep calm and carry on.”

“It is best not to panic over Omicron,” he says. “This new variant will not change the entire dynamic of the disease. Vaccine efficacy against severe illness was maintained against all variants so far, and it is unlikely that their efficacy will decrease against this variant.”

From a biological and virological perspective, he notes that the Omicron variant is unique and needs further examination. However, the best thing for the general public to do is get fully vaccinated and wear masks.

“The worst-case scenario is that we will face another wave of infection, but that should not lead to higher rates of mortality due to current vaccination rates,” he says.

Kobiler, a virology expert, says that Israel is among countries with the highest rates of COVID-19 booster vaccination among its population. “Several immunological studies indicated that this gives us an edge for fighting new variants.”

“Until everyone is vaccinated, though, we will keep seeing more mutations and variants,” he stresses, adding that widespread inoculation is particularly critical in developing countries where infection and mortality rates are significantly higher than in wealthier nations.

Get Booster Shots ASAP

Prof. Eran Bacharach

The emergence of the Omicron variant has raised questions about the efficacy of booster shots in their current form as opposed to revamped inoculations that may emerge in the future.

Prof. Eran Bacharach, of the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and a member of the Israeli Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Team, implores the public to get third injections as soon as possible of COVID-19 vaccines rather than waiting for new versions that may be better formulated to target Omicron.

“It will still take at least several months before new versions of COVID-19 vaccines are available on the market,” says Bacharach, the head of the molecular virology lab at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research.

Prof. Adi Stern, also of the Shmunis School, echoes Kobiler and Bacharach’s calls, adding that until there are updated vaccines, additional new variants will likely emerge. She explains that the spread of infection within a population—or “chain of infection”—is what enables the development of mutations and variants.

“Inoculation, even with vaccines that aren’t specifically formulated to target a certain strain, is the only thing that will break these ‘chains of infection’ and prevent the emergence of new variants,” says Stern, whose lab has been studying the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, now including the origin and behavior of the Omicron variant.

Prof. Adi Stern

Furthermore, she notes that current vaccines are based on the original wild-type strains seen early in the pandemic. “These vaccines have proved effective thus far in protecting against severe disease and death from existing variants, including the Delta strain. Considering all this, it’s much better to be vaccinated now to promote individual and herd immunity.”

Minding the Balance

Between “pandemic fatigue” and hyperbolized fears stoked by some officials, the latest variant outbreak renews questions about how to manage the situation. To avoid spurring panic, Dr. Bruria Adini cautions that public officials should not jump to conclusions about the severity of the Omicron variant when addressing the public.

“The public needs to be a full partner in the pandemic response. If officials lose the public’s trust, the situation will deteriorate,” says Adini, head of the Department of Emergency and Disaster Management in the School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. Bruria Adini

Adini, who has been conducting long-term studies of COVID-19 since March 2020, surveys the public every few months to gauge their emotional status and level of resilience over time. Her research continuously incorporates new developments that contribute to public perceptions, such as the risk versus reward of vaccinating children.

“It could be Omicron today or a new variant tomorrow, but we’ll live with COVID-19 for at least the near future,” she says.

One of the main concerns countries need to manage now is the prevention of healthcare system overloads.”Strengthening the capacity of medical systems with measures such as more ICU and internal medicine beds will foster more public resilience, which my research has found to be the greatest predictor of behavior such as agreeing to get vaccinated,” she says.

As opposed to earlier in the pandemic, she notes that the public and governments have shifted their mindset toward coronavirus. She points to the lessening of widespread lockdowns and closures of workplaces and schools amid each new development as a positive indication of evolving pandemic responses.

Select Omicron media coverage featuring TAU experts:

Prof. Jonathan Gershoni & Dr. Oren Kobiler: What is the new COVID Omicron variant? Here’s what we know (The Jerusalem Post)
Prof. Jonathan Gershoni: Israel on High Alert over Omicron Variant (i24 News)
Dr. Oren Kobiler: Biggest Change Since COVID Started’: What’s Omicron and How to Beat It, per This Israeli Expert (Haaretz)
Dr. Oren Kobiler: Israel bans arrivals from Africa over omicron variant (i24 News)
Prof. Adi Stern: ‘Overwhelming’: Israeli virus sleuth researchers work flat-out on Omicron puzzle (The Times of Israel)

Britain and Israel Team Up on Challenge of Healthy Ageing

Written by AUFTAU on 11 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

A new collaboration between Israel and the UK aims to promote joint research projects related to ageing. As part of this collaboration, Tel Aviv University recently held a hybrid conference on the multidisciplinary aspects of ageing research. Furthermore, a new £1.6 million (₪7 million) grant program was launched for funding collaborations between Israeli and British researchers in the field of ageing research and the call for proposals is now open.

Israel and the UK are sharing knowledge in many fields, and according to Prof. Karen Avraham, Vice Dean for Pre-Clinical Affairs of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Chair of the conference from TAU, gerontology is one of the most important among them. The conference is the harbinger of collaboration between Israel and other progressive western countries around these topics, and Prof. Avraham believes we will see more such conferences in the future.

Quality of Life in Old Age

The conference, which dealt with the multidisciplinary aspects of ageing research, among them: molecular ageing, social ageing, age-dependent diseases and interventions and life quality, constitutes a fruitful joint initiative of the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange (BIRAX) partnership, Tel Aviv University, the British Council in Israel and the UK Embassy. It is the 5th BIRAX conference since its launch 10 years ago.

“I am happy and excited for the unique opportunity given to us, leading researchers from Israel and the UK, to share our knowledge arm in arm. The pandemic has made it clear how old age can be precarious and forlorn, and I hope that gerontological and geriatric topics will gain more public awareness. In a world in which our lifespan is getting longer and longer, we shall make sure that life quality will be conserved also in old age, and we are here to discuss that,” said Prof. Karen Avraham. Prof. Avraham has, among else, developed an innovative treatment for deafness, a novel therapy that could lead to a breakthrough in treating children born with various mutations that eventually cause deafness.

One of the World’s Great Challenges

Among the participants of the conference were the British Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Neil Wigan OBE, Chairman of the British Council, Mrs. Stevie Spring CBE, and Lord Robert Winston of Hammersmith, along with leading researchers from Israeli and British universities.

Ambassador Neil Wigen and TAU’s Dr. Mira Marcus-Kalish

Ambassador Neil Wigan, said: “Scientific collaboration between the UK and Israel is one of our most important fields, and we are working to expand it dramatically in the future. It’s always exciting to see the groundbreaking research proposals coming out of BIRAX – in ageing research and other academic areas – that have real potential to impact the future of us all”.

“Over the decade of its existence, BIRAX has promoted UK-Israel scientific collaboration allowing both countries to complement each other’s strengths in research, science and medicine. The British Council is proud to be enabling both countries to join forces on one of the world’s great challenges – healthy ageing,” added Stevie Spring CBE.

Conference participants

Featured image: Photo (from left to right): TAU Governor and benefactor Mr. Sami Sagol, British Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Neil Wigan and Prof. Karen Avraham at the conference.

TAU Researchers Identify COVID Proteins that Cause Strokes and Heart Attacks

Written by AUFTAU on 8 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Two years into the global pandemic, we still do not know which of the proteins in the SARS-CoV-2 virus are the ones responsible for cases of severe vascular damage. For the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19, a TAU-led team of experts has been able to identify 5 of the 29 proteins that make up the virus that are responsible for damaging blood vessels. The researchers hope that the identification of these proteins will help develop targeted drugs for COVID-19 that reduce vascular damage.

Coronavirus Deconstructed

“We see a very high incidence of vascular disease and blood clotting, for example stroke and heart attack, among COVID patients,” says Dr. Ben Maoz of TAU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and Sagol School of Neuroscience. “We tend to think of COVID as primarily a respiratory disease, but the truth is that coronavirus patients are up to three times more likely to have a stroke or heart attack. All the evidence shows that the virus severely damages the blood vessels or the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels. However, to this day the virus has been treated as one entity. We wanted to find out which proteins in the virus are responsible for this type of damage.”

The novel coronavirus is a relatively simple virus – it comprises a total of 29 different proteins (compared to the tens of thousands of proteins produced by the human body). The Tel Aviv University researchers used the RNA of each of the COVID-19 proteins and examined the reaction that occurred when the various RNA sequences were inserted into human blood vessel cells in the lab; they were thereby able to identify five coronavirus proteins that damage the blood vessels.

Dr. Ben Maoz in his lab

Minimizing Damage to Blood Vessels

“When the coronavirus enters the body, it begins to produce 29 proteins, a new virus is formed, that virus produces 29 new proteins, and so on,” explains Dr. Maoz. “In this process, our blood vessels turn from opaque tubes into kind of permeable nets or pieces of cloth, and in parallel there is an increase in blood clotting. We thoroughly examined the effect of each of the 29 proteins expressed by the virus, and were successful in identifying the five specific proteins that cause the greatest damage to endothelial cells and hence to vascular stability and function. In addition, we used a computational model developed by Prof. [Roded Sharan of the Blavatnik School of Computer Science] which allowed us to assess and identify which coronavirus proteins have the greatest effect on other tissues, without having seen them ‘in action’ in the lab.”

According to Dr. Maoz, the identification of these proteins may have significant consequences in the fight against the virus. “Our research could help find targets for a drug that will be used to stop the virus’s activity, or at least minimize damage to blood vessels.”

The study was led by Dr. Ben Maoz of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Prof. Uri Ashery of The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, and Prof. Roded Sharan of the Blavatnik School of Computer Science – all Tel Aviv University researchers. Also participating in the study were Dr. Rossana Rauti, Dr. Yael Bardoogo and doctoral student Meishar Shahoah of Tel Aviv University, and Prof. Yaakov Nahmias of the Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University. The results of the new study were published in the journal eLife.

Featured: Illustration of Coronavirus in blood vessel

From Law and Education to Nursing

Written by AUFTAU on 3 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Help A Friend Out?

Written by AUFTAU on 7 October 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Help A Friend Out?

Ever wonder what causes us to help – or not to help – someone in distress? New research from the Tel Aviv University indicates that the brain activity that gives rise to one’s motivation to help only occurs when the “other” who is in distress is a member of one’s own group. Interestingly, helping a friend in distress appears to relate more to a sense of group belonging and identity and less to expressing empathy for another’s difficulty and suffering, suggesting that pro-social behavior should be promoted through the reinforcement of a sense of belonging, more than a sense of empathy.

Selective Aid

Previous findings showed that rats do demonstrate empathy for their peers. Rescuing them from trouble and reaching out to help is as rewarding to them as eating chocolate. It was subsequently found that while rats do love to help their peers, they only help members of their own group and not rats from other groups.

In the current study, the research team decided to examine what change in the brain causes this behavioral difference that leads the rats to only help members of the same group. How did they do that? Dr. Inbal Ben Ami Bartal of The School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience at the Tel Aviv University explains that during the course of the study, researchers used phosphoric markings to mark those neurons in the rats’ brains that were active when the rats were in the presence of the trapped rats. Similarly, the researchers recorded their cerebral activity by means of a calcium signal that is released when neurons are active.

Cultivating A Sense of Belonging

Their findings are fascinating: Upon seeing the trapped rat, a system in the brain, similar to that seen in humans when they report feeling empathy, was activated. However, only when the rats discerned that it was a rat of their own breed did the researchers observe “helpful behavior” and action by the brain’s “reward system,” meaning – activation of a neural network that inspires motivation to perform acts that contribute to survival. When the trapped rat is from another, unfamiliar breed, the rats do not help it and the brain’s reward system does not activate. Thus, it is a sense of belonging which is the dominant factor that affects social solidarity, and not empathy for the suffering and distress of others.

“This research shows that the reward system has an important function in helping behavior and if we want to increase the likelihood of pro-social behavior, we must reinforce a sense of belonging more than a sense of empathy,” concludes Dr. Ben Ami Bartal.

The team is currently examining what happens in the brains of rats from different groups over the course of two weeks during which they live together and become friends, and how artificial brain stimulation can be utilized to make the rats show empathy for the plight of rats from another breed.

TAU research team: Dr. Inbal Ben Ami Bartal, Tamar Spectre, Estherina Trachtenberg, and Dr. Einat Bigelman (not in the photo: Keren Ruzal and Ben Kantor)

The study was led by Dr. Inbal Ben Ami Bartal of The School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience at the Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Daniela Kaufer of the University of California and Berkeley as well as additional researchers from Stanford University and the University of Toronto. The study was published in the prestigious journal, eLife.

Can’t Multitask Anymore?

Written by AUFTAU on 6 October 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Walking while simultaneously carrying out a cognitive task, like talking on a cellphone or with a companion, happens frequently throughout the day for many of us. The concurrent performance of two tasks requires the ability to split attention. For older people, difficulties performing another task while walking or standing reflect an existing and/or a potential problem concerning both functions. It also means an increased risk of falling, which can have many severe and undesirable consequences for older adults.

Tel Aviv University researchers sought to examine the benefits of very low intensity, non-invasive electrical stimulation of various parts of the brain, on the capability of older adults to walk or stand while simultaneously carrying out a cognitive task, a common dual-task situation that can determine their overall functionality. They hoped that this might improve their ability to perform both tasks simultaneously in a safer manner. The researchers found that when stimulating the dorsal lateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC), a cognitive brain area responsible for dividing attention and executive functions, the immediate, negative impact of a dual-task on standing and walking performance was significantly reduced.

The study team under the leadership of Prof. Jeffrey Hausdorff of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), and Dr. Brad Manor at Harvard Medical School, as well as researchers from Harvard University, research and medical institutions in the US and Spain, and the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov). The study was published in the Annals of Neurology, the journal of the American Neurological Association. The research was funded by a grant from the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation.

Gentle Power

The study cohort included 57 subjects over the age of 70. Each of them was tested by 4 different treatments:

Sham, designed not to have any influence at all, but to rule out any placebo effects;
Stimulation of a cognitive area of the brain (DLPFC) that is responsible for dividing attention;
Stimulation of a sensory-motor area of the brain which contributes to the regulation of walking;
Simultaneous stimulation of both areas – motor and cognitive – together.

Each treatment included non-invasive stimulation using a very low-intensity electric current for 20 minutes. Immediately upon the conclusion of the treatment, the walking and standing sway of each subject were evaluated, with and without the request to also perform a cognitive task.

The study showed that stimulation of the cognitive area, whether alone or together with the stimulation of the motor area, reduced the negative effects of the cognitive task on walking and standing stability by about 50%. Stimulation of the sensory-motor area alone and sham stimulation did not improve the subjects’ performance. The researchers explain that, since the stimulation is gentle, it does not activate brain neurons but only increases their excitability; in other words, it facilitates the ability of the patient to activate those neurons in his or her brain.

“In our study, we demonstrated that a low-level, gentle stimulation of a specific cognitive area of the brain can improve the performance of older adults when they carry out the double task of walking or standing in place while at the same time performing a cognitive task, at least within the immediate time range,” says Prof. Hausdorff.

“We hope that a series of treatments will lead to similar positive results over a more protracted period: to improve standing stability and walking capability, diminish the risks of falling, and perhaps also enhance cognitive function among the elderly population. This treatment is safe, and we hope that, in time, people will be able to undergo self-treatment in their own homes. Additionally, we foresee the possibility of combining this type of therapy with exercise and other modes of intervention that can help to improve walking, to enhance thinking, and to reduce the risk of falls. There is evidence that combined therapy could prove to be the most effective solution, but further research is required to examine this,” he concludes.

Why Do We Squabble Over The AC?

Written by AUFTAU on 5 October 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Why do women typically bring a sweater into work while their male counterparts feel comfortable wearing short sleeves in an air-conditioned office? Researchers at Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology offer a new evolutionary explanation for the familiar scenario and can share that this phenomenon is not unique to humans, with many male species of endotherms (birds and mammals) preferring a cooler temperature than the females. The researchers propose that males and females feel temperature differently, explaining that this is a built-in evolutionary difference between the heat-sensing systems of the two sexes, related, among other things, to the reproduction process and caring for offspring.

The study was led by Dr. Eran Levin and Dr. Tali Magory Cohen from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, Yosef Kiat from the University of Haifa, and Dr. Haggai Sharon, a pain specialist from Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Tel Aviv Sourasky Tel Aviv Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital). The article was published in the Journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.

Separation During Breeding Season

The new study included an in-depth statistical and spatial analysis of the distribution of dozens of bird and bat species living in Israel, along with a comprehensive review of the international research literature on the subject.

A study of the research literature reveals several examples of a similar phenomenon observed in many species of birds and mammals. In migratory bird species, males spend the winter in colder areas than females (it should be noted that in birds, the segregation between the sexes takes place outside of the breeding season, since the males participate in the raising of the chicks).

Amongst many mammals, even in species that live in pairs or in mixed groups all their lives, the males prefer shade whereas the females prefer sunlight, or the males ascend to the peaks of mountains while the females remain in the valleys.

Following the literature review, the researchers conducted their own research. They sampled information collected in Israel over the course of nearly 40 years (1981-2018) on thousands of birds from 13 migratory bird species from 76 sites (data from Birdlife Israel and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History) and 18 species of bats from 53 sites (data from the researchers and the Society for the Protection of Nature.) In total, the study included more than 11,000 individual birds and bats, from Mount Hermon in the north to Eilat in the south.

The reasoning behind the choice of birds and bats for the study is the fact that they fly and are therefore highly mobile, and the researchers hypothesized that the spatial separation between the sexes – sometimes extending to different climatic zones – would be particularly clear in these groups. Moreover, Israel’s significant climate diversity allowed them to study individual animals of the same species that live in very different climatic conditions.

Illustrative Photo: Bats in Cave

The findings of the study clearly demonstrated that males prefer a lower temperature than females, and that this preference leads to a separation between the sexes at certain periods during the breeding cycles, when the males and females do not need, and may even interfere, with each other.

Dr. Levin: “Our study has shown that the phenomenon is not unique to humans; among many species of birds and mammals, females prefer a warmer environment than males, and at certain times these preferences cause segregation between the two species. In light of the findings, and the fact that this is a widespread phenomenon, we have hypothesized that what we are dealing with is a difference between the females and males’ heat-sensing mechanisms, which developed over the course of evolution. This difference is similar in its essence to the known differences between the pain sensations experienced by the two sexes, and is impacted by differences in the neural mechanisms responsible for the sensation and also by hormonal differences between males and females.”

Dr. Levin, who among other things studies the physiology and behavior of bats, noted in his previous studies that during the breeding season males and females tend to segregate, with the males inhabiting cooler areas. For example, entire colonies in caves on the slopes of Mount Hermon are composed of only males during the breeding season, while in the warmer area of the Sea of Galilee there are mainly females, who give birth and raise their pups there.

Dr. Magory Cohen notes that this difference has a number of evolutionary explanations. First, the separation between males and females reduces competition over resources in the environment, and keeps away males who may be aggressive and endanger the babies. Furthermore, many female mammals must protect their offspring at a stage when they are not yet able to regulate their body temperature on their own, so they developed a preference for a relatively warm climate.

Giving Each Other Some Space

The phenomenon can also be linked to sociological phenomena observed in many animals and even in humans; in a mixed environment of females and males the females tend to have much more physical contact between themselves, whereas males maintain more distance and shy away from contact with each other.

It appears the difference in thermal sensation did not come about so we can argue with our partners over the air conditioning. Rather, we are meant to give each other some space so that each person can enjoy some peace and quiet. Question is, who gets the couch?

The Immune System’s Double Agents

Written by AUFTAU on 5 October 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

The Immune System’s Double Agents

Glioblastoma is the most common type of brain cancer, and one of the most violent and deadly cancers in humans; the average life expectancy of glioblastoma patients is 12 to 15 months from the moment of detection. Usually, the scientific monitoring of the development of the cancerous tumor in animal models is carried out without an active immune system, in order to enable the absorption and growth of cancer cells in the body. The disadvantage of this commonly-used model lies in the fact that the immune system either does not exist or does not function properly, which prevents researchers from monitoring the interaction between it and the tumor cells.

A new Tel Aviv University study examined for the first time the development of a glioblastoma cancerous tumor in animal models with a normal immune system in order to best simulate the development of the tumor in humans. The findings showed that there are immune system cells that, despite the fact that their primary function is to attack and kill the cancer cells, actually act as “double agents” that increase and intensify the aggressiveness and threat of the tumor.

The study was led by Dr. Dinorah Friedmann-Morvinski of The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, and her PhD student Prerna Magod. Also participating in the study were Dr. Liat Rousso-Noori and Ignacio Mastandrea, also from the Faculty of Life Sciences, as well as researchers from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Weizmann Institute of Science. The study was published in the prestigious journal Cell Reports.

Switching Sides

In the study, the researchers found that cells called neutrophils play a critical role in interacting with the cancerous growth. Neutrophils are immune system cells that originate in the bone marrow, and whose purpose is to “swallow” or kill bacteria and fungi and fight the infections caused by them. “Neutrophils are the front-line soldiers of the immune system,” explains Dr. Friedmann-Morvinski. “When a tumor begins to develop, the neutrophils are among the first to mobilize and attack it in order to eliminate it.”

The researchers also found that the neutrophils remain near the tumor throughout its development, and are continuously and consistently recruited from the bone marrow. The surprising thing that was discovered during this study is that the neutrophils “change sides:” Whereas at first, with the onset of the initial tumor, the neutrophils fight it, over time the neutrophils recruited to the cancerous area begin to support its development.

Dr. Friedmann-Morvinski: “We learned that the neutrophils actually change their role. They are mobilized by the tumor itself, and from being anti-cancerous, become pro-cancerous; as a result, they aggravate the damage that the tumor itself creates.”

Moreover, the researchers found that the process by which the neutrophils change their properties can take place remotely, even before they progress towards the tumor itself.

“The study showed that the change in the properties of neutrophils takes place in the bone marrow itself – where there is no tumor at all: the cancerous tumor is located only in the brain, and from there it succeeds in changing the properties of the cells it recruits,” adds Dr. Friedmann-Morvinski.

Seeking to Boost Effectiveness of Immunotherapy

“The new findings of this study may also shed light on immunotherapeutic therapies, which have been gaining a lot of momentum in recent years. In one type of immunotherapy treatment, T cells [important white blood cells of the immune system] are removed from the patient’s body, processed, and returned to the body with increased healing abilities. One of the major problems today is that even these cells, that have been sent in order to heal, are suppressed and their actions stifled. If we know how to change the interaction between neutrophils and T cells so that they are not suppressed, this will have implications for the effectiveness of immunotherapy.”

These revelations may be the first step towards deciphering the mechanism of interaction between the immune system and cancerous tumors.

Using ‘Good’ Bacteria to Fight ‘Bad’ Bacteria

Written by AUFTAU on 29 September 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Antibiotic resistance is an ever-growing worry to the medical profession, with the World Health Organization recently defining it as one of the most significant dangers to public health and food safety. A new technology from Tel Aviv University will make it possible to insert ‘good’ bacteria into the body, or into diverse environmental niches, for the purpose of injecting toxins and eliminating ‘bad’ bacteria. The breakthrough technology can be suited to target different kinds of bacteria and may become a biological replacement for antibiotics, potentially saving many lives.

The study was conducted by Dr. Dor Salomon, Dr. Biswanath Jana and Kinga Kappel of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine.

Taking Advantage of Killing System

Beneficial bacteria and pathogenic bacteria, bacteria that can cause disease, have fought each other over resources and nutrients since the dawn of time, and have developed a variety of sophisticated mechanisms that neutralizes their competition. Understanding the mechanisms that mediate these bacterial wars will enable their utilization and conversion into new tools that will be used to treat diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

TAU researchers built a system which allows them to engineer ‘good’ bacteria that can recognize disease-causing bacteria, attack the latter exclusively with toxins and neutralize them. Dr. Dor Salomon explains, “We know how to change and control every component in the system and create a bacterium that neutralizes different strains of bacteria. This is proof of feasibility, showing that we have the knowledge and ability to create bacteria that take advantage of this killing system and may serve as antibiotic treatments. Such bacteria could replace the classic antibiotics that we currently use in a variety of scenarios”.

High Degree of Control

The researchers ‘borrowed’ a toxin injection system – known as a Type 6 Secretion System – from a pathogenic bacterium and introduced it into a ‘friendly’ bacterium, Vibrio natriegens. This ‘friendly’ bacterium is not harmful to humans or animals and can survive and reproduce under a variety of conditions. The injection system is similar to a poisoned arrow shot from a bacterium towards neighboring bacteria.

Photo: Vibrio bacteria expressing a structural component of the type 6 secretion system fused to a green fluorescent protein, allowing us to visualize the assembly of the secretion

Toxins carried on the arrow then mediate the elimination of competing bacteria. With the help of central regulator protein that they identified, researchers were able to produce an ‘operating switch’ for the system and cause it to ‘turn on’ only in response to recognizing desirable environmental conditions. In addition, researchers proved it possible to control the type and amount of toxins that are loaded on the arrow, thus adjusting the system’s killing range.

Serving Many Purposes

The system in its current form is predominantly suited for preventing and treating bacterial infections that affect the production of food from marine animals. It can then be adapted to treat pathogenic bacteria in humans, farm animals, plants and the environment.

“Ramot – The Technology Transfer Company of Tel Aviv University has filed a patent application to protect the technology and its application. Many companies in the field have already expressed interest in this sophisticated system developed by Dr. Dor Salomon, Dr. Biswanath Jana and Kinga Kappel”, says Keren Primor Cohen, CEO, Ramot at TAU. The study was published in the peer-reviewed EMBO Reports.

Tag: Medicine

Saving Lives with Artificial Intelligence

TAU Experts on Omicron: “Don’t Panic”