Scientists at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified an innovative combination of treatment strategies that work collaboratively to effectively kill acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, a frequently incurable form of cancer. New research findings — published in the Nature family journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy — suggest that a class of drugs known as MCL-1 (myeloid leukemia cell-1) inhibitors interact with a type of kinase inhibitor that targets the SRC gene to efficiently trigger cell death in AML cells.

Diagnosing and treating cytopenic myelofibrosis in children is challenging due to the wide spectrum of clinical and pathological features, underlying etiologies, and variable therapeutic responses. In this review, we summarize the related literature and present our diagnostic algorithm to differentiate pediatric myelofibrosis and guide therapy. In brief, primary myelofibrosis is extremely rare in children, while myelofibrosis secondary to non-neoplastic or neoplastic disorders should be thoroughly ruled out in ambiguous cases. Moreover, it is reasonable to closely follow up patients and repeat bone marrow biopsy before reaching a definitive diagnosis.

Spatial transcriptomics techniques, which map gene activity in intact tissues, often face challenges in accurately identifying distinct tissue regions. Now, researchers from Japan have developed STAIG, a deep-learning framework that integrates gene expression, spatial data, and histological images to identify tissue regions with high accuracy. The proposed framework holds much promise for understanding the complexities of cancer development, brain function, and how our bodies are constructed.

Nature ion channels play significant role in the living organisms, which can translocate physiological relevant ions across the cell membranes as demand. To simulate and replace the function of nature channels, researchers are encouraged to develop artificial channels using simple and smart supramolecular structures. Inspired by the complementary hydrogen bonding interactions of DNA/RNA, a team of researchers from East China University of Science and Technology reported a simple synthetic supermolecule system to form stable ion channels in the lipid membranes, and the efficient transport of K⁺ triggers apoptosis of cancer cells. It represents one of the few examples of using complementary hydrogen bonding interactions to construct effective ion channels and offers new perspectives in the developments of anticancer drugs.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are well-known risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC). NAFLD has emerged as a heterogenous disease tightly linked to metabolic dysfunction and has been redefined under the umbrella term ‘steatotic liver disease’ (SLD). However, CRC risk variations across different SLD subgroups remain unknown. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered that the risk of CRC varies significantly among SLD subgroups, with patients with alcoholic liver disease being at higher risk.