Genentech and Repare updates; plus an eye gland organoid and more

The Genentech Inc. unit of Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) showed in Science Translational Medicine that patients with severe asthma, a group that often does not benefit from inhaled corticosteroids, had increased corticosteroid-driven FGF expression in bronchial airway epithelial cells. Similarly, allergen challenge studies in mice demonstrated that an inhaled corticosteroid increased FGF. Treating mice with pan-FGF receptor inhibitors and corticosteroids alleviated allergic responses.

Separately, Genentech and scientists from Janelia Research Campus demonstrated in Science that ESCRT proteins repair perforin-mediated plasma membrane holes, enabling cells to resist cytolytic attack. Inhibition of ESCRT in cancer-derived cells enhanced their susceptibility to cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated killing...