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A device that integrates the enrichment and electrochemical detection, in less than one hour, of tumour extracellular vesicles bearing clinically relevant tumour biomarkers accurately classifies patients with colorectal cancer.

Myocardial infarction accelerates atherosclerosis through activation of the sympathetic nervous system, and the consequent release of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

A biodegradable implant inserted after tumour removal sustainably releases immune modulators and reprograms tumour-infiltrating myeloid cells toward a pro-inflammatory, antitumour phenotype, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for preventing glioblastoma recurrence.

p53 mediates the response to irradiation, however, tissues with similar levels of p53 have different radiation sensitivities. Here, the authors show that the in vivo p53 dynamics varies in these tissues after radiation, and the use of Mdm2 inhibitor to sustain p53 activity enhances radiosensitivity.

Current pharmacokinetic models describe the distribution of drugs within tissues but usually lack single-cell resolution. Here Weissleder and colleagues visualize the subcellular distribution of an anticancer drug in real time in living animals and develop a model to extrapolate these findings to humans.

In this work, authors generate nanoconstructs that synergistically target cell wall synthesis in Candida pathogens, which induce potent antifungal effects and prolonged survival in candidiasis, providing an alternative treatment option to conventional drugs.

Wireless bioresorbable stimulators are promising therapeutic implants that naturally dissolve after use. Here, the authors developed a device that operates for months and enables simultaneous multi-site stimulation, preventing early muscle atrophy and accelerating reinnervation in nerve injury models.

A low-cost point-of-care device that uses contrast-enhanced microholography and deep learning accurately detects aggressive lymphomas in patients referred for aspiration and biopsy of enlarged lymph nodes.

β-Cyclodextrin nanoparticles carrying an antagonist of the toll-like receptors TLR7 and TLR8 drive the M1 phenotype in tumour-associated macrophages and improve immunotherapy response rates in tumour mouse models when used with checkpoint blockade.

Spatial molecular imaging analysis of human pancreatic adenocarcinomas describes multicellular neighborhoods in the tumor microenvironment. Ligand–receptor analysis using optimal transport-based SCOTIA identifies interleukin-6 as a mediator of chemoresistance.

The use of fluorescence-polarized microscopy, combined with competitive binding with matched fluorescence companion imaging probes, enable target engagement measurements of covalent and reversible small molecule inhibitors in a single cell.

Two-step bioorthogonal chemistry increases nanoparticle binding for more sensitive cell detection compared with standard techniques, including the biotin–avidin system.

This paper reports magnetic imaging of immunolabeled mammalian cells using nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond and shows that the method can be used for quantitative profiling of markers.

Inhibitors of PI3 kinase are in development for the treatment of cancer. But whether these compounds will work as single agents remains to be seen. Engelman et al. now show that a PI3K-mTOR inhibitor is effective in a mouse model of lung cancer induced by a mutant PIK3CA but has no effect on Kras-induced tumors. Combining the PI3K-mTOR inhibitor with a MEK inhibitor induced regression of mouse Kras tumors, suggesting that such combinations may be beneficial in human tumors (pages 1315–1316).

One of two papers showing that reactivation of the endogenous p53 tumour suppressor genes in established tumours causes cancer regression. In some tumours, p53 reactivation causes cellular senescence associated with an innate immune response that contributes to tumour clearance.

Infection by coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the most common cause of acute endocarditis, a destructive and progressive condition of heart valves. Here, Peter Panizzi and his colleagues have developed a targeted, noninvasive fluorescence or positron emission technology imaging strategy that uses an engineered analog of prothrombin that can detect S. aureus in vivo in the endocarditic vegetations that form as a result of bacterial colonization.

A major challenge in biomedicine is the rapid and accurate measurement of biomarkers in biological samples. Here, Lee et al. describe a chip-based NMR diagnostic platform that can perform sensitive and selective measurements on small volumes of unprocessed biological samples. This miniaturized biosensing system is high throughput, low cost and portable, and its utility is shown in a number of biomedical applications.

Polymeric nanomaterials have a rich history of applications in the selective delivery of small-molecule drugs to their biological targets. This Review discusses the evolution of drug delivery using such polymers and explores how these approaches have evolved in parallel with the ability to prepare ever more architecturally complex macromolecular structures.

Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive, and also the most common, brain tumour type in adults. Here, the authors generate a nanoparticle encapsulating the TLR7/8 agonist, R848, which induces tumour regression in mice by reprogramming myeloid cells independently of T and NK cells.

Multiplexed analyses of near single EVs is currently challenging. Here the authors report the method MASEV, multiplexed analysis of EVs, to interrogate thousands of individual EVs during 5 cycles of multi-channel fluorescence staining for 15 EV biomarkers.

Live cells and tissues are imaged over long time periods using a fast, non-toxic click chemistry.

This Review summarizes developments in the imaging ofin vivoanticancer drug action, with a focus on microscopy approaches at the single-cell level and translational lessons for the clinic.

Tumour-associated macrophages (TAM) can be used as prognostic indicators in cancer. Here, the authors establish a platform for high-throughput 3D microscopy in murine lung carcinoma that allows to visualize TAMs infiltration throughout the entire lung, response to CSF-1R blockade and nanoparticle drug delivery.

Microscopic imaging techniques have a high spatio-temporal resolution but, in living animals, are hampered by cardiac and respiratory motion. This paper describes a microscopic setup that allows fluorescent confocal imaging of the beating mouse heart over a period of several hours.

Detecting and phenotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis, especially in resource-limited settings, is important for global tuberculosis control. Here Liong et al. report a point-of-care diagnostic platform based on magnetic barcoding and nuclear magnetic resonance for the detection of mycobacterial nucleic acids.

This manuscript describes a new cerebral spinal fluid exit route via hundreds of skull channels, with the cranial bone marrow as a destination. In meningitis, bacteria hijack this path and alert hematopoietic stem cells residing in the skull marrow.

Distinct brain regions differentially and rapidly tailor the leukocyte landscape during psychological stress, calibrating the ability of the immune system to respond to physical threats.

Nanoparticle albumin bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX) is widely used in the clinic to treat different cancers, but the effect of albumin on the distribution of the drug in tumours is not clear. Here the authors show that the accumulation of nab-PTX in tumours is affected by signalling molecules involved in nutrient uptake and processing, which could be reprogrammed to increase the drug’s efficacy.

Interleukin-3 signalling from astrocytes to microglia readies microglia to defend against Alzheimer’s disease.

The regulation of microtubule (MT) dynamics in cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment is less understood. Here, the authors develop an imaging platform to examine MT dynamics in live xenograft models and show that pro-tumor macrophages modulate MT coherence and alignment to promote cancer cell migration.

Diagnostic tests need optimization to avoid invasive and costly repeated biopsies. Here the authors present an antibody-DNA barcoding approach where harvested single cells can be re-stained through custom oligonucleotide-fluorophore conjugates, enabling multiplexed analysis of cancer pathways.

The authors describe microscopic channels that directly connect the skull marrow cavities with the meninges. Neutrophils originating from the skull marrow have a higher propensity to travel to the ischemic mouse brain than cells in the tibia.