Immune System News and Research

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Key to stem cell transplant success is tricking immune system

Tricking the body's immune system into ignoring stem cells will be the key to successful stem cell transplants, according to Professor Maggie Dallman, Imperial College London, speaking this week at the BA Festival of Science.

10 Sep 2005

At last, the seven secrets of eternal youth!

There are it seems seven different factors which we should be concentrating on in our search for eternal youth and they have nothing to do with plastic surgery and crazy diets!

10 Sep 2005

Stressgen granted new U.S. patent for treatment of Hepatitis B

Stressgen Biotechnologies announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Patent Number 6,921,534 covering fusion protein compositions comprised of a hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen fused to a heat shock protein (Hsp), as well as DNA encoding such fusion proteins, and methods of treating an HBV infection using these fusion proteins.

7 Sep 2005

Researchers develop 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.

7 Sep 2005

Collaborators seek parasite invasion blockers

A malaria research team, including WEHI Structural Biologist, Professor Ray Norton, has received a US$1 million grant from the US National Institutes of Health to develop more effective malaria treatments.

7 Sep 2005

Researchers uncover how the inhaled form of anthrax disarms bacteria-fighting white blood cells before they can fend off the disease

The lethal toxin in anthrax paralyzes neutrophils, the white blood cells that act as the body's first defense against infection, by impairing how they build tiny filaments that allow them to crawl throughout the body and eat invading bacteria.

6 Sep 2005

British Heart Foundation gene research helped by thousands of brothers and sisters

An unusual British Heart Foundation (BHF) 'DNA database' from brothers and sisters across the UK has enabled researchers to pinpoint six genetic 'hotspots' that can double the risk of developing early heart disease.

6 Sep 2005

Profile of immune cells in axillary lymph nodes predicts disease-free survival in breast cancer

Breast cancer often spreads through the lymph nodes in the arm pits (so-called axillary lymph nodes), and whether these lymph nodes are tumor-free or contain small metastases is an important factor in the decision of how aggressively to treat a patient.

6 Sep 2005

Shot in the arm for vaccines

A Flinders University research program to develop new forms of vaccine against infectious diseases has received over $3 million in funding from the United States Government's National Institutes of Health.

6 Sep 2005

DNA research: learning the language of genes

Griffith University's Dr Christine Wells is one of just a handful of women scientists in the global FANTOM consortium which has announced a major breakthrough in unraveling the mammalian genome.

6 Sep 2005

Immune cells known as macrophages linked to growth of lymph vessels in eyes,

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered that a particular immune cell contributes to the growth of new lymph vessels, which aid in healing. This cell, known as a macrophage, is called in by the body during the wound healing process.

6 Sep 2005

Genetic hot spots double the risk of early heart disease

According to researchers in the UK there are six genetic "hotspots" that can double the risk of developing early heart disease.

6 Sep 2005

New way to assess risk of breast cancer recurrence

Currently, the best way to predict whether a breast cancer is likely to recur is to determine whether tumor cells have invaded the lymph nodes near the breast.

5 Sep 2005

Gene B-myb essential in preventing tumors

A new study has confirmed that research done with zebrafish may be able to play a critical role in learning about the genetic basis of cancer and the mutations that can lead to it - and identified one gene in particular, B-myb, whose function is essential to preventing tumors.

5 Sep 2005

Single molecular anchor holds the key to treating many types of bacterial meningitis

By blocking the molecule's anchoring ability, researchers may be able to find a way to stave off the most common serious infection of the central nervous system and a major cause of childhood death and disability. The researchers' findings appear in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

5 Sep 2005

New vaccine with the potential to protect against fungal pathogens

A group of scientists in Italy have developed a vaccine with the potential to protect against fungal pathogens that commonly infect humans, according to a study by Torosantucci and colleagues in the September 5 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

5 Sep 2005

Parasite could help prevent asthma

Asthma in Britain has reached epidemic proportions and the country now has one of the highest numbers of sufferers of the allergy in the world; in Ireland alone it is reported that as many as 30% of all schoolchildren have symptoms of the disease.

5 Sep 2005

Lack of exposure to dirt and common viral infections among children could be behind the rise in the levels of asthma

Scientists believe that knowing exactly which type of dirt provides the best 'education' for the immune system, could be key to providing new treatments for diseases such as asthma.

4 Sep 2005

Potential new way to fight HIV

Researchers have confirmed for the first time the benefit of an innate defense system present in the few patients who remain healthy after years of infection with HIV despite receiving no treatment, according to an article published in the September edition of the Journal of Virology.

1 Sep 2005

Macrophages kill bacteria - but not always

Macrophages are effective weapons used by our immune system to absorb and digest pathogenic intruders. Some bacteria, however, can subvert this defence mechanism and even multiply within the macrophages.

1 Sep 2005