In experiments with diabetic mice, the research group at USP’s Biomedical Science Institute (ICB) achieved a 40% reduction in mortality due to sepsis by treating the animals with a substance that inhibits the synthesis of an inflammatory mediator known as leukotriene B4 (LTB4). Similar drugs are already used to combat asthma and other allergic conditions. “Our work shows that type 1 diabetic mice present sterile inflammation that is dependent on this mediator, LTB4. This base inflammation increases the susceptibility to sepsis,” said Luciano Filgueiras, the first author of the paper. Inflammation is termed sterile when it is not due to infection.

A collaborative study between the laboratory of researcher José Conejo García of the University of Philadelphia, USA, and the Laboratorio de Inmunopatología del Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IBYME, CONICET-FIBYME) revealed the relationship between certain microbes and the growth of distal tumor in the organism. According to the result, some intestinal bacteria activate Toll-like receptors (Toll 5 or TLR5). This leads to several inflammations that trigger tumor growth. For the researchers, the possibility of deciphering the interactions between some microbes and the immune system will promote the discovery of new ways to battle cancer.

To test a controversial theory about what sets the pace of life, scientists worked at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama to compare metabolism and membrane lipid composition of 22 species of orchid bees of different sizes. Their findings support a theory that the cell membranes of animals in the fast lane—that have high metabolic rates—are different from the cell membranes of animals with a slower pace of life, at least in the proportion of the fatty acids they contain.