Macrophage News and Research

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A macrophage is a type of white blood cell that surrounds and kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune system cells.

Can metformin reduce mortality in diabetic individuals with severe COVID-19?

A new study by researchers in China and the U.S. describes a round-up of the effects of commonly used hypoglycemic drugs on the outcomes of COVID-19 in diabetic patients.

1 Feb 2021

Study: Targeting glycoprotein could improve response to cancer immunotherapy

It was an unexpected discovery that started with an analysis of more than 1,000 genes. The question: why game-changing cancer immunotherapy treatments work for only a fraction of patients.

28 Jan 2021

Melatonin synthesized in the lungs acts as a barrier against SARS-CoV-2

Melatonin synthesized in the lungs acts as a barrier against SARS-CoV-2, preventing expression of genes that encode proteins in cells such as resident macrophages in the nose and pulmonary alveoli, and epithelial cells lining the alveoli, all of which are entry points for the virus.

28 Jan 2021

Anakinra shows therapeutic potential in critically ill COVID-19 patients

A team of international scientists recently conducted an open-level clinical trial to investigate the effects of personalized immunotherapy on critically ill COVID-19 patients.

27 Jan 2021

Could spironolactone treat COVID-19-related pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis?

Researchers have described the potential of the drug spironolactone, a potassium-sparing diuretic, and anti-androgen, in preventing or alleviating the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia, and in preventing pulmonary fibrosis.

27 Jan 2021

Study shows several peridomestic mammal species are potential spreaders of SARS-CoV-2

Researchers from the US and Australia show that several common peridomestic species (including deer mice, striped skunks and bushy-tailed woodrats) are amenable to infection with SARS-CoV-2.

26 Jan 2021

Hyperinflammatory conditions drive gender differences in COVID-19 severity and mortality

Recently researchers from India analyzed gender differences in COVID-19-related hyperinflammatory conditions resulting in mortality in Indian patients. The study is published on the preprint server, medRxiv*.

25 Jan 2021

Experts advise disaggregating data on COVID-19 patients by sex

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine have highlighted the importance of ensuring studies of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) report data in a sex-disaggregated manner.

24 Jan 2021

High factor V levels linked to lymphopenia and weakened immunity in severe COVID-19

A new study suggests that factor V, a coagulation factor, is upregulated in a range of white blood cells in severe COVID-19. This increase is linked to the observed coagulopathy, lymphopenia and suppression of adaptive immunity in such patients.

21 Jan 2021

Stanford study identifies a key factor in mental aging

Scientists have identified a key factor in mental aging and shown that it might be prevented or reversed by fixing a glitch in the immune system’s front-line soldiers.

20 Jan 2021

New drug reduces tumor volume and pain in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1

Based on preclinical studies of an investigational drug to treat peripheral nerve tumors, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as part of the Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium have shown that the drug, cabozantinib, reduces tumor volume and pain in patients with the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

15 Jan 2021

EGR1 protein acts as a master regulator of inflammation in macrophages, study suggests

Scientists at The Wistar Institute discovered that Early Growth Response 1 (EGR1), a protein that turns on and off specific genes during blood cell development, inhibits expression of pro-inflammatory genes in macrophages.

14 Jan 2021

Could intranasal SARS-CoV-2 vaccines be a practical alternative to intramuscular shots?

The unchecked advance of COVID-19 has made it a top public health priority to produce a vaccine capable of inducing a safe and powerful protective response against its causative pathogen: SARS-CoV-2. An encouraging new study shows the immunogenicity, safety, and protective efficacy, of a Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-based intranasal vector vaccine in animal studies.

14 Jan 2021

Daily circadian cycles may impact our ability to fight disease

An analysis of an exhaustive dataset on cells essential to the mammalian immune system shows that our ability to fight disease may rely more heavily on daily circadian cycles than previously assumed.

12 Jan 2021

Boosting a natural cellular process could lower ventilator-related lung damage

An unfortunate truth about the use of mechanical ventilation to save the lives of patients in respiratory distress is that the pressure used to inflate the lungs is likely to cause further lung damage.

12 Jan 2021

Study investigates effect of anti-CD45 RIT lymphodepletion on immune cell types

Oncotarget recently published "Targeted lymphodepletion with a CD45-directed antibody radioconjugate as a novel conditioning regimen prior to adoptive cell therapy" which reported that Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies, and adoptive cell therapy in general, represent one of the most promising anti-cancer strategies.

12 Jan 2021

Study shows COVID-19 pneumonia is different from typical pneumonia

Bacteria or viruses like influenza that cause pneumonia can spread across large regions of the lung over the course of hours. In the modern intensive care unit, these bacteria or viruses are usually controlled either by antibiotics or by the body's immune system within the first few days of the illness.

12 Jan 2021

Freiburg researchers receive ERC funding to develop and test immunostimulatory drug candidates

With the Proof of Concept funding line, the ERC grants recipients of ERC frontier research funds (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy grants) with 150.000 Euro to develop promising ideas with commercial or societal potential to the proof of concept stage.

11 Jan 2021

Vimentin could be a major co-factor that aids SARS-CoV-2 infection

A recent study has found that extracellular vimentin can bind to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in vitro, and antibodies against vimentin can decrease virus infectivity by up to 80%. This suggests vimentin could aid the virus’s binding to host cells and help in infection.

11 Jan 2021

Are SARS-CoV-2 antibodies associated with disease enhancement?

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to wreak its havoc, antibodies that neutralize the virus and protect against infection have become an important focus of research. However, there is a concern as to whether these antibodies can actually enhance the disease.

6 Jan 2021