UCLA researchers have identified type 5 collagen as a key factor in kidney fibrosis, revealing its potential as a biomarker to predict chronic kidney disease progression.

A repurposed anti-cancer drug, Cilengitide, was found to reduce kidney scarring and slow disease progression in preclinical models, suggesting a possible precision medicine approach for high-risk patients.

The team now seeks to develop a blood test to measure type 5 collagen levels, which could help identify patients at greater risk for kidney failure and guide targeted treatment strategies.

Van Andel Institute scientists and collaborators have developed a new method for identifying and classifying pancreatic cancer cell subtypes based on sugars found on the outside of cancer cells. These sugars, called glycans, help cells recognize and communicate with each other. They also act as a cellular “signature,” with each subtype of pancreatic cancer cell possessing a different composition of glycans.

Comprehensive reference genomes have now been assembled for six ape species: siamang (a Southeast Asian gibbon), Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, gorilla, bonobo and chimpanzee. Areas of their genomes previously inaccessible because of structural complexity have now mostly been resolved.  The resource is already lending itself to comparative studies that offer new insights into human and ape evolution, and into what underlies the functional differences among these species.