FDA grants accelerated approval to Jemperli (dostarlimab), an immunotherapy treatment for rectal cancer, developed through pioneering research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) with critical early-stage funding from Swim Across America.

What if we could predict in early development, which antibiotics bacteria are most likely to become resistant to? In a review published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, researchers from the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (HUN-REN BRC Szeged) and the Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine (HCEMM) in Szeged propose a five-step decision-making framework that could help identify resistance risks early, refine promising drug candidates and prevent costly failures.

A Zhejiang University-led team used ribosome profiling, RNA sequencing, and 16S rRNA sequencing to study immune translation in healthy and weaning piglets. Weaning triggered widespread translational reprogramming of immune genes and a shift toward GC-ending codons. Gut microbiota from weaned piglets also showed GC-enriched codon profiles and was linked to host immune gene translation. The findings suggest a previously unrecognized association between microbiota composition and codon-usage-linked translational control during early-life stress.

AGA and AASLD are releasing a new guideline addressing major changes in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) treatment, including when to use newer second-line therapies and a new therapy for cholestatic pruritus. 

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients disproportionately suffer from depression and anxiety, which exacerbate clinical outcomes yet remain inadequately addressed by current anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) biologics. To bridge this therapeutic gap, we engineered Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (eEcN) as a clinically translatable living microbial therapeutics platform for dual-targeted intervention. eEcN is designed to autonomously secrete immunomodulatory outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) bearing TNFα-neutralizing nanobodies (TNFαnb). These bioengineered nanovesicles specifically target inflamed colon tissue, enabling localized TNFα blockade, mucosal healing, and immune regulation. Concurrently, the eEcN remodels the gut microbiota, increasing symbiotic Lactobacillus abundance to elevate intestinal γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels, addressing a core neurotransmitter deficit in IBD-associated depression. In murine colitis models, this integrated strategy surpassed conventional anti-TNF therapy, simultaneously ameliorating intestinal pathology and depression-like behaviors. Mechanistically, eEcN attenuated neuroinflammation and restored hippocampal GABAergic neurotransmission via the gut-brain axis. This engineered living biomaterial platform, synergizing targeted OMVs-mediated nanobody delivery with microbiota-driven neurometabolite production, represents a promising approach for the complex pathophysiology of IBD and its neuropsychiatric comorbidities.