Spleen News and Research

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Study improves understanding of the link between obesity and gum disease

Chronic inflammation caused by obesity may trigger the development of cells that break down bone tissue, including the bone that holds teeth in place, according to new University at Buffalo research that sought to improve understanding of the connection between obesity and gum disease.

12 Nov 2021

Researchers identify gene expression involved in cancer progression and chemotherapy resistance

Even within a single patient with cancer, there is a vast diversity of individual tumor cells, which display distinct behaviors related to growth, metastasis, and responses to chemotherapy.

11 Nov 2021

Researchers investigate how intestinal bacteria distribute metabolic products in membrane vesicles

Bacteria in the intestine pack a wide spectrum of their biomolecules into small capsules. These are transported via the bloodstream to various organs in the body and even absorbed and processed by nerve cells in the brain.

9 Nov 2021

Study finds inhaled microspheres reduce SARS-CoV-2 infective effectiveness

A new study develops an inhaled microfluidic microsphere with a genetically engineered membrane from the ACE2 receptor-overexpressing cells and macrophages.

1 Nov 2021

Electroceutical research with widespread implications for regulating spleen function

An international team of researchers, led by University of Houston Cullen Endowed Professor of biomedical engineering Mario Romero-Ortega, has progressed electroceutical research for treatment of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and sepsis.

25 Oct 2021

Improper Z-RNA recognition contributes to pathogenesis of Aicardi-Goutières syndrome

Like DNA, RNA molecules contain information through unique combinations of four different nucleotides. However, through a molecular process called RNA editing, chemical changes can be made to adenosine nucleotides that convert them to a nucleotide called inosine by enzymes known as adenosine deaminases (ADARs).

21 Oct 2021

SARS-CoV-2 induces tissue immune memory

A new study reports that the SARS-CoV-2 induces protective tissue memory that includes both humoral and cellular elements to protect specific tissue sites.

14 Oct 2021

Hollings Cancer Center researcher awarded NCI grant to pursue early investigator studies in leukemia

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher Haizhen (Jen) Wang, Ph.D., was awarded a five-year $344,000 per year grant by the National Cancer Institute to pursue her early investigator studies in leukemia.

5 Oct 2021

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

Study paves the way for development of novel delivery systems to suppress HIV

In a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health, researchers used exosomes, tiny nanoparticles capable of being taken up by cells, to deliver novel protein into the cells of mice infected with HIV. The protein attached to HIVs' genetic material and prevented it from replicating, resulting in reduced levels of HIV in the bone marrow, spleen, and brain.

21 Sep 2021

Specially designed lipid nanoparticles overcome resistance to anti-tumor immunotherapy

A specially designed lipid nanoparticle could deliver immune-signaling molecules into liver macrophage cells to overcome resistance to anti-tumor immunotherapy.

18 Sep 2021

Scientists identify new approach to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapy

Hokkaido University scientists and colleagues in Japan have found a way that could help some patients overcome resistance to immunotherapy treatment for cancer. The approach, proven in mice experiments, was reported in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

17 Sep 2021

Novel combination therapy approach to keep leukemia at bay

In chronic leukemias, blocking the overactive kinase JAK2 by a targeted therapy approach is only mitigating the patients' symptoms, but cannot truly change the course of the disease.

16 Sep 2021

Researchers identify the spleen as primary site for priming of 'killer' T cells during influenza infection

CD8+ T cells - known as "killer" T cells - are the assassins of the immune system. Once they are primed, they seek out and destroy other cells that are infected with virus or cells that are cancerous.

12 Sep 2021

Physical exercise can improve cancer-induced anemia

Many cancer patients suffer from anemia leaving them fatigued, weak, and an impaired ability to perform physical activity.

9 Sep 2021

Vesicular stomatitis virus-based COVID vaccines demonstrate potent antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health, USA, have recently demonstrated the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of two vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in hamsters.

6 Sep 2021

Will mRNA vaccine boosters be required for SARS-CoV-2 variants?

A new study shows that the highly effective mRNA Moderna vaccine designed against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain may lose some efficacy as new variants arise.

30 Aug 2021

Preclinical study validates crucial role of the spleen in cardiac repair

Although we can survive without a spleen, evidence continues to mount that this abdominal organ plays a more valuable role in our physiological defenses than previously suspected.

23 Aug 2021

Durable highly protective T cell response to AAV-spike vaccine against COVID-19 pneumonia in mice

New research, available as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, has focused on the role played by T cell immunity, particularly CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, on preventing lethal infection with SARS-CoV-2 in mice infused with peptide-loaded antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs).

19 Aug 2021

UC Davis Health offers third dose COVID-19 'booster' shots to immunocompromised patients

As COVID-19 cases rise due to the Delta variant, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has approved third dose vaccinations for patients whose immune systems are compromised moderately to severely.

17 Aug 2021