Thymus News and Research

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Review explores the role of cellular senescence in lymphoid organ dysfunction and immunosenescence

Aging-US published "Cellular senescence in lymphoid organs and immunosenescence" which reported that immunosenescence is a multi-faceted phenomenon at the root of age-associated immune dysfunction.

5 Oct 2021

B cell activating anti-CD73 antibody for the immunotherapy of COVID-19

Despite the advent of numerous vaccines and the discovery of passive monoclonal antibodies for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), there remains an urgent need for definitive therapies for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients.

27 Sep 2021

Study reveals mechanism behind male infertility caused by autoimmune disease

Investigators have found that the absence of autoimmune regulator (Aire) in mice results in fertility problems similar to those affecting men with autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type I (APS-1).

19 Aug 2021

Investigational treatment improves survival rate of babies lacking thymus

An investigational treatment pioneered by a Duke Health pediatrician resulted in a one-year survival rate of 77% among children born with a rare condition in which they lack an immune system.

4 Aug 2021

UCSF researchers discover how the immune system may play a role in miscarriage

Researchers at UC San Francisco are zeroing in on how the immune system may play a role in miscarriage, which affects about a quarter of pregnancies.

16 Jul 2021

Beneficial effects of gene therapy can be seen in SCID-X1 patients decades after treatment

An international collaboration between Great Ormond Street Hospital, the UCL GOS Institute for Child Health and Harvard Medical School has shown that the beneficial effects of gene therapy can be seen decades after the transplanted blood stem cells has been cleared by the body.

17 Mar 2021

Researchers explore difference in reactions to SARS-CoV-2 infection between children and adults

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 2.67 million lives in less than a year and a half. However, it is uncommon in children, with less than 2% of the cases being in individuals below the age of 19. Most of these are of mild severity, with the clinical features of severe COVID-19 being rare in this age group.

17 Mar 2021

Researchers find CXCR6 gene plays a role in COVID-19 severity

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study demonstrating that a gene called CXCR6 (C-X-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 6) may play an important role in determining the severity of COVID-19.

19 Feb 2021

Cellular survival after radiation exposure depends on the specific protein behavior

Exposure to radiation can wreak indiscriminate havoc on cells, tissues, and organs. Curiously, however, some tissues are more vulnerable to radiation damage than others.

10 Feb 2021

Insight into role of aging in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine set out to determine the differences between young people and older adults regarding their host responses against SARS-CoV-2. The team revealed that independent of disease severity, COVID-19 was linked to a significant shift in plasma inflammatory factors. The research is posted to the pre-print server medRxiv*.

3 Feb 2021

Thymus gland works to prevent miscarriage, diabetes in pregnant women

An international research team led by the University of British Columbia (UBC) has uncovered for the first time the importance of a small gland tucked behind the sternum that works to prevent miscarriage and diabetes in pregnant women.

24 Dec 2020

Study uncovers a new paradigm for the role of the thymus in pregnancy

How the immune system adapts to pregnancy has puzzled researchers for decades. An international team of researchers, including scientists from IMBA – Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences – has now discovered that important changes in the thymus occur in order to prevent miscarriages and gestational diabetes.

23 Dec 2020

COVID-19 severity could be linked to genetic variance

A new study describes some potentially important genetic factors in the host that may shape the clinical symptoms and signs of the disease.

23 Dec 2020

Scientists use human stem cells and bioengineered scaffold to build whole functioning thymus

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and University College London have rebuilt a human thymus, an essential organ in the immune system, using human stem cells and a bioengineered scaffold.

11 Dec 2020

Immunonutrition may improve COVID-19 patients' recovery

Researchers duo Emma Derbyshire and Joanne Delange from the Nutritional Insight, Surrey, United Kingdom, explore the role of immunonutrition – nutrition that boosts or influences the immune system for those over 65 years of age in COVID-19. Their study titled, “COVID-19: is there a role for immunonutrition, particularly in the over 65s?,” was released in the latest issue of the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health.

26 Nov 2020

Inflammatory factors that aggravate COVID-19 may come from adipose tissue

There is growing evidence that adipose tissue plays a key role in the aggravation of COVID-19. One of the theories under investigation is that fat cells (adipocytes) act as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 and increase viral load in obese or overweight individuals.

20 Nov 2020

Study reveals seven “forms of disease” in COVID-19

In a study recently published in the top journal "Allergy", a team of MedUni Vienna scientists led by immunologist Winfried F. Pickl and allergologist Rudolf Valenta (both from the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology) showed that there are seven "forms of disease" in COVID-19.

2 Nov 2020

Study shows how genetic predisposition contributes to the development of multiple sclerosis

About half of the people with multiple sclerosis have the HLA-DR15 gene variant. A study led by the University of Zurich has now shown how this genetic predisposition contributes to the development of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis in combination with environmental factors.

22 Oct 2020

Study shows how mutations in VAV1 gene may promote T-cell tumors in experimental mice

Life is an exquisite orchestration of growth and change, with checks and balances that fine-tune complex entwined interactions, both intrinsic and external.

12 Oct 2020

Scientists map genetic networks that control the biology of regulatory T cells

Unlike most T cells, which launch immune responses against foreign molecules, regulatory T cells are the peacekeepers of the human immune system, damping down inflammatory reactions when they're not needed.

1 Oct 2020