Immunosuppression News and Research

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Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.

Melanomas that metastasize to the adrenal gland are resistant to checkpoint inhibitors

Recent advances in immunotherapy have allowed doctors at the University of Colorado Cancer Center to more effectively treat melanomas that spread to other parts of the body. Immunotherapy drugs such as checkpoint inhibitors, which are commonly used to treat melanomas, work to strengthen a patient's immune system so that it can prevent a tumor from "turning off" the ability of the immune system to fight it.

24 Sep 2021

Researchers reveal a mechanism of SHP2-mediated tumor immunosuppression

Colorectal cancer (CRC), a malignant tumor worldwide consists of microsatellite instability (MSI) and stable (MSS) phenotypes. Although SHP2 is a hopeful target for cancer therapy, its relationship with innate immunosuppression remains elusive. To address that, the authors of this article performed single-cell RNA sequencing to explore the role of SHP2 in all cell types of tumor microenvironment (TME) from murine MC38 xenografts.

21 Sep 2021

Study quantifies the life-years lost to cancer among transplant recipients

People who have received organ transplants face an elevated risk of developing cancer, primarily due to immunosuppression from medications to prevent organ rejection, as well as underlying medical conditions.

20 Sep 2021

New vaccinia-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate induces robust, durable immune responses

Researchers in Australia have developed a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-9) vaccine that induced robust and long-lived humoral and cellular immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in both young and aging mice.

8 Sep 2021

Study reveals Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and immune response in clinically vulnerable individuals

The current study found that a strong S-antibody response occurs following complete vaccination with two different COVID-19 vaccines.

6 Sep 2021

Newly discovered cell type makes survivors of sepsis more vulnerable to infections

Sepsis is the leading cause of death in Brazil's intensive care units (ICUs). Among patients who progress to the severe form of the disease, 40% die, and the survivors often suffer from cardiovascular and neurological complications, as well as a significant decline in immunity lasting for years after they are discharged from hospital.

2 Sep 2021

Severe COVID-19 negatively impacts kidney function in kidney transplant recipients

During her medical school career, third-year student Skylar Nahi has taken advantage of the mentorship and research opportunities available to Feinberg students.

31 Aug 2021

COVID-19 vaccine elicits antibody responses in nearly 9 out of 10 people taking immunosuppressants

COVID-19 vaccination elicited antibody responses in nearly nine out of 10 people with weakened immune systems, although their responses were only about one-third as strong as those mounted by healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

30 Aug 2021

ACTG announces positive data for monoclonal antibody combination therapy from the ACTIV-2 study

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group, the largest global HIV research network, which has expanded its focus to include evaluating outpatient treatment for COVID-19, today announced positive data for the monoclonal antibody combination therapy BRII-196/BRII-198 from the ACTIV-2 study of Outpatient Monoclonal Antibodies and Other Therapies.

27 Aug 2021

New clinical trial to test third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people

A new clinical trial to determine whether a third dose of vaccine will improve the immune response for people who have weakened immune systems is launching in the UK.

24 Aug 2021

Study in dogs may lead to better understanding of how gliomas affect the immune system

A new study reveals that high-grade gliomas, or brain tumors, in dogs contained more immune cells associated with suppressing immune response than low-grade gliomas.

20 Aug 2021

Remote controlling of CAR-T cells with heat to precisely target tumors

A team of researchers led by bioengineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology is expanding the precision and ability of a revolutionary immunotherapy that is already transforming oncology. CAR T-Cell therapy has been hailed by patients, clinical-researchers, investors, and the media as a viable cure for some cancers.

18 Aug 2021

Risk factors for hospitalization among HIV patients infected with SARS-CoV-2

The hospitalization of PWH with COVID-19 is related to host factors such as older age and co-morbidities, rather than due to traditional metrics of HIV.

11 Aug 2021

Natural vs. vaccine-induced COVID-19 immunity

A new paper discusses the protection offered by immunity against COVID-19 following vaccination as compared to natural infection.

10 Aug 2021

Pilot study assesses antibody response to third COVID-19 vaccine dose in kidney transplant recipients

A pilot study has begun to assess the antibody response to a third dose of an authorized COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in kidney transplant recipients who did not respond to two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

10 Aug 2021

Scientists urge increased attention to persistent COVID-19 infections in immunocompromised people

In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine, the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina urged increased attention to persistent COVID-19 infections in immunocompromised people.

5 Aug 2021

Immunocompromised patients could be potential hosts for immune-escape mutants of SARS-CoV-2

In a recently published article in The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists have described how multi-mutational variants of SARS-CoV-2 may evolve in patients with immunosuppression.

5 Aug 2021

Scientists seek to block pathogen’s most reliable weapon to cause severe malaria

The parasites that cause severe malaria are well-known for the sinister ways they infect humans, but new research may lead to drugs that could block one of their most reliable weapons: interference with the immune response.

21 Jul 2021

Could new strains of COVID evolve in farm animals or pets?

It appears no one is safe from severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Given that SARS-CoV-2 likely developed in bats and later transmitted to humans in Wuhan, China, there has been concern over animals infecting humans. But more evidence has shown that humans are more likely to infect animals — from hamsters, gorillas to the domestic cat.

14 Jul 2021

Real-world evidence SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines work and help prevent worst outcomes

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 and Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccines at preventing hospitalizations due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

12 Jul 2021