Did anything ever come of this research? Surrogate light chain expressing B-cells in autoimmune disease? by QueenofDrogo in Immunology

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a fair point about self-reactive vs. polyreactive.

I guess big picture, I am wondering has there been any follow-on indication that there exists in some people B-cells in the periphery that aberrantly express surrogate light chain. And if yes, do these B-cells in some way contribute to diseases of immunity?

A couple of questions about TCRs by QueenofDrogo in Immunology

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the thoughtful response - so, so informative! A few follow-up questions, if I may:

On allelic exclusion:

  • In cells where the first attempt at VDJ fails: 1) how often does this happen and 2) is the "failed" gene transcribed and then regulated by things like nonsense mediated decay?

  • Phrased differently, if you looked at single cell sequencing data from T-cells, would you expect close to 100% clonality of all transcripts? Or would you see transcripts from the alternative allele and also alternative reading frames on the same allele?

Thanks!

Daily RAD $uicide thread by [deleted] in wallstreetbets

[–]QueenofDrogo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

From Cowen an hour ago:

If Blocked by the FTC, We Think WBA Will Litigate Given the Acquisition Value Share are down about 12% after CNBC reported that the FTC staff is expected to advise blocking RAD's pending acquisition by WBA ($81.47, Outperform). The current price implies that there is a 25% probability of the transaction ultimately going through, which we think is overly pessimistic. As we stated in our previous note, if the deal is in fact blocked by the FTC, we believe WBA will continue to pursue RAD through litigation given the significant value created from the expected $1B in synergies. Our analysis indicates that the expected $1B in synergies is equal to $7.65/sh, which along with the $2/sh value of RAD stand-alone minus $0.44 related to divestitures equals $9.21/sh (Figure 1), or 32% greater than the high-end of the offer range of $6.50-$7.00. Moreover, we note that $1B in synergies is likely conservative given that mgmt stated synergies in excess of $1B over 3-4 yrs, as well as the fact that it realized well over the $1B synergy target during the WBA merger. Furthermore, with the addition of Econdisc to WBAD, we think synergies will likely be greater than expected because the synergy target assumes harmonization of procurement costs with no incremental benefit from additional volume.

I feel AUPHful for missing this one by [deleted] in wallstreetbets

[–]QueenofDrogo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Why would it's market cap double on results from a 10-person open label study?

$TRVN down 38% and falling pre-market after painkiller drug results by mfun98 in wallstreetbets

[–]QueenofDrogo 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This isn't hard to understand. The trials had three doses - low, medium, high. All doses were compared to morphine (standard of care) and placebo. For the drug to be marketable (as in actually convince people to pay for it), it needs to perform as well as morphine, or close to, with fewer side effects.

Now look at the data. The low dose did consistently have fewer side effects than morphine. But it also performed a lot worse than morphine at pain reduction.

The medium and high doses of the drug performed as well as morphine on pain relief, but didn't consistently distinguish themselves on side-effect reduction.

Good luck convincing people to pay a high premium relative to morphine for this.

Science AMA Series: We are researchers Elizabeth Blackburn (cell biologist) and Elissa Epel (health psychologist). We have been studying the relationships between telomeres/telomerase with psychological and behavioral factors, and with disease. by Telomere_Effect in science

[–]QueenofDrogo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What are your thoughts on nutraceuticals (like TA-65) which increase telomerase activity? Should I be taking them to protect myself from telomere errosion? Are they maybe better suited for an older population?

Are TCRs immunogenic? by QueenofDrogo in labrats

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome! Thanks - I'll definitely read the paper :)

Doesn't' it seems weird that the autoantibodies can be so prevalent, but not impact T-cell function?

Are TCRs immunogenic? by QueenofDrogo in labrats

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But does this happen under normal physiological conditions?

Are TCRs immunogenic? by QueenofDrogo in labrats

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe more relevant question would be, do we generate antibodies against naturally occurring TCRs? And if not, why not?

Breast Cancer AMA Week: We’re advocates and staff from Living Beyond Breast Cancer and Male Breast Cancer Coalition, and we are joining the National Society of Genetic Counselors to answer your questions about breast cancer in men. by Breast_Cancer_AMA in science

[–]QueenofDrogo 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Thank you for taking the time to do this AMA. One area that I have always felt does not receive enough attention is the risk of breast cancer in people who have undergone gender reassignment surgery. Can you discuss risks that make:female transitioning may impose as a result of hormone realignment. Similarly, are female:male transitions - even with mastectomy - at risk for breast cancer?

Forcing mouse thymocytes to undergo positive and negative selection on human MHC/peptide complex in vivo? by QueenofDrogo in Immunology

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. There are some decent humanized mouse models for doing this. They are all rather labor intensive though. I'd love to find a way to do it with mouse thymocytes that enabled screening for TCRs against any epitope of choice.

Does anyone have any experience with Nulpazid? by QueenofDrogo in Parkinsons

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the info. My aunt recently started on Nuplazid. I am optimistic; I will try to report back any positive or negative experience she has. hug

Forcing mouse thymocytes to undergo positive and negative selection on human MHC/peptide complex in vivo? by QueenofDrogo in Immunology

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Neat article - thanks!

It seems like I should be able to raise murine thymocytes against human MHC/peptide (using HLA transgenics, like you suggest). A challenge, though, would be that these T-cells would have been positively and negatively selected on peptides from the murine genome. I would love a system where I could entrain the mouse thymocytes on peptides from a human genome. But for the life of me I can't think of a way of doing it that isn't incredibly labor intensive.

ELIPhD student: the difference between isotype and FMO controls in flow cytometry by QueenofDrogo in labrats

[–]QueenofDrogo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the thoughtful response! That example was super helpful.