Publications by authors named "Vered Domankevich"

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is at present an incurable disease with a 5-year survival rate of 5.5%, despite improvements in treatment modalities such as surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy [e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Diffusing alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy (DaRT) releases alpha-emitting atoms into the tumor microenvironment. The treatment effectively ablates human and mice xenografts and shows 100% response rates in skin or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. DaRT induces specific and systemic antitumor immune activation and synergizes with immune stimulation and modulation in mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diffusing alpha-emitting radiation therapy (DaRT) employs intratumoral Ra-224-coated seeds that efficiently destroy solid tumors by slowly releasing alpha-emitting atoms inside the tumor. In immunogenic tumor models, DaRT was shown to activate systemic antitumor immunity. Agonists of the membrane-bound toll-like receptors (TLRs) enhanced these effects and led to tumor rejection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • DaRT (Diffusing alpha-emitters radiation therapy) is a powerful treatment for solid tumors that also triggers a broad immune response against cancer after tumor destruction.
  • In animal studies with colon cancer, combining DaRT with various immunomodulatory agents (like TLR agonists) significantly improved tumor growth inhibition and increased cure rates compared to using DaRT alone.
  • The research suggests that DaRT, when paired with immunotherapy, induces a specific and lasting immune memory against tumors, potentially serving as a dual approach for both treating and vaccinating cancer patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The blind mole rat (Spalax) is a wild, long-lived rodent that has evolved mechanisms to tolerate hypoxia and resist cancer. Previously, we demonstrated high DNA repair capacity and low DNA damage in Spalax fibroblasts following genotoxic stress compared with rats. Since the acquisition of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) is a consequence of persistent DNA damage, we investigated whether cellular senescence in Spalax is accompanied by an inflammatory response.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Tissue hypoxia happens when there's not enough oxygen in cells, leading to too much calcium entering them, which can cause cell death.
  • The blind mole rat, Spalax, has special features that help it live in low-oxygen areas, including a unique receptor that controls calcium flow.
  • Research shows that Spalax's receptors allow less calcium to enter cells during low-oxygen situations compared to regular rats and mice, helping to protect the cells from damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Blind mole rats of the genus are the only mammalian species to date for which spontaneous cancer has never been reported and resistance to carcinogen-induced cancers has been demonstrated. However, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. The fact that spp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The subterranean blind mole rat, Spalax, experiences acute hypoxia-reoxygenation cycles in its natural subterranean habitat. At the cellular level, these conditions are known to promote genomic instability, which underlies both cancer and aging. However, Spalax is a long-lived animal and is resistant to both spontaneous and induced cancers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The subterranean blind mole rat, Spalax (genus Nannospalax) endures extreme hypoxic conditions and fluctuations in oxygen levels that threaten DNA integrity. Nevertheless, Spalax is long-lived, does not develop spontaneous cancer, and exhibits an outstanding resistance to carcinogenesis in vivo, as well as anti-cancer capabilities in vitro. We hypothesized that adaptations to similar extreme environmental conditions involve common mechanisms for overcoming stress-induced DNA damage.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Surgery renders patients susceptible to life-threatening complications, including infections, multiple organ failure, and presumably cancer metastases. Surgery-induced immune perturbations were suggested to contribute to such deleterious effects, but also to facilitate post-injury healing. Preoperative psychological and physiological stress responses may contribute to these immune perturbations, and could thus jeopardize patients even before surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Inflammation is implicated in several medical conditions that are sexually dimorphic, including depression, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmunity, and presumably cancer progression. Here we studied the effects of the proinflammatory agent, LPS, on MADB106 lung tumor retention (LTR), and sought to elucidate underlying mechanisms and sexual dimorphism. F344 male and female rats were administered with LPS (0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF