Immune System News and Research

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John Hopkins scientists uncover "tags" that force proteins to cell surface

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered internal "shipping labels" that allow -- and perhaps force -- hundreds if not thousands of proteins to get to the surface of cells and stay there.

22 Sep 2005

Next generation of effective viral-based therapies for cancer

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center continue to make strides in their work to develop the next generation of effective viral-based therapies for cancer.

21 Sep 2005

Simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein

A team led by University of California, San Diego biochemists has discovered the mechanism by which a simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein, a finding that provides a new tool to develop novel drugs.

21 Sep 2005

Abatacept, marketed as Orencia appears to offer pain relief and increased mobility to rheumatoid arthritis patients

A new drug appears to offer pain relief and increased mobility to rheumatoid arthritis patients who have exhausted their other medical treatment options.

21 Sep 2005

Drug that blocks acid buildup inside cells revs up the immune response to vaccines

Reporting in the current issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vincenzo Barnaba and his team at the University of Rome show that people receiving booster shots against hepatitis B virus developed more robust immune responses if given a widely used anti-malaria drug called chloroquine.

21 Sep 2005

First true animal model for psoriasis

Scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna have developed the first true animal model for psoriasis and have been able to address the initial steps and possible causes of the disease.

20 Sep 2005

Vaccine against group B streptococcus

Common bacteria that live harmlessly in the gastrointestinal tract and vagina of 25 percent of women can become lethal if a newborn gets exposed to them during birth.

20 Sep 2005

SARS can infiltrate brain tissue

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), by its very name, indicates a disease of the respiratory tract. But SARS can also infiltrate brain tissue, causing significant central nervous system problems, according to an article in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

20 Sep 2005

New treatment approach for severe asthma

Researchers have uncovered a potentially new treatment approach for severe asthma, by blocking a powerful immune system chemical, present in large amounts in patients with the severe form of the disease, a small study in Thorax reveals.

20 Sep 2005

Research could improve clinical care, help educate women on premature birth

A March of Dimes expert panel has recommended a targeted research agenda designed improve the lives of thousands of babies by preventing premature birth. The agenda has been published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

20 Sep 2005

PUMA protein offers critical insights for developing new anti-cancer drugs

The discovery of how the activities of the protein p53 initiate signals that trigger cell suicide offers critical insights for developing new anti-cancer drugs, according to investigators from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

20 Sep 2005

Researchers detail molecular images of a piece of the spike-shaped protein that the SARS virus uses initiate the first stages of infection

Researchers have determined the first detailed molecular images of a piece of the spike-shaped protein that the SARS virus uses to grab host cells and initiate the first stages of infection.

19 Sep 2005

Study suggests chronic infections may create autoimmune response

New research finds the human immune system has foregone evolutionary changes that would allow it to produce better antibodies in less time because the improved antibodies would be far more likely to attack the body's own tissues.

19 Sep 2005

Drug AMD-3100 may help cancer patients who need stem cell transplants

A new drug may help cancer patients mobilize the cells necessary to restore their blood-forming system after high-dose chemotherapy, according to results from a clinical trial at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and at other centers across the nation.

19 Sep 2005

Retinoic acid combined with PIC, a synthetic immunity booster, significantly elevates the immune system response to a tetanus shot

These results show that a natural product of vitamin A can have an important role in regulating immunity and, when administered along with PIC, might be a potentially powerful nutritional-immunological assist in vaccination."

12 Sep 2005

Vical and NIH to evaluate enhanced-delivery HIV vaccine

Vical Incorporated today announced plans to develop and evaluate electroporation-enhanced delivery of therapeutic and preventive DNA vaccines against HIV

12 Sep 2005

Cellular mechanism discovery could lead to new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease

A major finding by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) has identified a previously unknown cellular mechanism that acts as an off switch for immune system function.

12 Sep 2005

Screening test for cells that activate immune system

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are the first to create a large-scale, cell-based screening method that identifies which compounds activate immune-response cells that hold promise for future cancer-fighting vaccines.

12 Sep 2005

Nuclear receptor proteins could change anti-inflammatory treatments

Several nuclear receptor proteins appear to overlap in their ability to exert anti-inflammatory effects, according to new research by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

12 Sep 2005

Unexpected link between the viruses that cause feline and human AIDS

A University of Florida researcher has discovered an unexpected link between the viruses that cause feline and human AIDS: Cats vaccinated with an experimental strain of the human AIDS virus appear to be at least as well-protected against the feline version of the disease as those immunized with the vaccine currently used by veterinarians.

10 Sep 2005