Immune Response News and Research

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Three vaccine candidates race to combat SARS-CoV-2

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ravages across the globe, scientists are racing to develop an effective vaccine to combat the viral infection. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the disease has infected nearly 9 million people.

22 Jun 2020

Innovative use of focused ultrasound shows promise against glioblastoma

An innovative use of focused ultrasound being pioneered at the University of Virginia School of Medicine is showing promise against glioblastoma, the deadliest brain tumor, and could prove useful against other difficult-to-treat cancers.

22 Jun 2020

Researchers identify mouse model that mimics HFpEF syndrome in humans

A receptor that plays an essential role in safely clearing chronic unresolved cardiac inflammation may offer new targets for treating an increasing type of heart failure associated with age-related obesity, suggests a preclinical study led by researchers at the University of South Florida Health Heart Institute, Morsani College of Medicine.

22 Jun 2020

Novel vaccine platform against COVID-19 based on engineered human mesenchymal stem cells

In a recent groundbreaking bioRxiv paper, Chinese researchers describe a novel approach towards coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine design based on engineered human mesenchymal stem cells, with favorable and promising antibody response.

22 Jun 2020

Reassuring news on the Oxford vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2

A new paper from the UK vaccine research group, currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server, reveals that a single dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) can induce antigen-specific antibody and T cells responses against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and a booster shot additionally enhances antibody production with an increase in neutralizing titers – particularly in pigs.

22 Jun 2020

Tumor cell–based vaccine may prevent relapse of mantle cell lymphoma

A phase I/II clinical trial by researchers at Stanford University suggests that vaccines prepared from a patient's own tumor cells may prevent the incurable blood cancer mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) from returning after treatment.

22 Jun 2020

GlobalData: Further research into MIS-C could reveal how COVID-19 affects the immune system

Some children have developed a severe inflammatory response due to COVID-19 infection that appears similar to Kawasaki disease.

22 Jun 2020

Synthetic peptide could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Ligandal, one of the world’s leading genetic medicine companies, has modeled a synthetic peptide that could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

22 Jun 2020

Human trials to commence using SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from cow's blood

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a sense of urgency as it actively spreads across the globe. The number of reported cases has now surpassed 8.46 million people, with a death toll of more than 453,000. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop an effective treatment and vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

19 Jun 2020

Widespread testing could help stop the spread of COVID-19

The world is now in the grips of a historic pandemic. The death toll from the novel coronavirus has climbed to more than 117,000 in the United States and 448,000 around the world.

18 Jun 2020

Cloning stem cells to develop treatments for Crohn's disease

For over a decade Wa Xian, research associate professor of biology and biochemistry at the University of Houston Stem Cell Center, has been perfecting technology for cloning stem cells. Now she is using it to take aim at pediatric Crohn's disease.

18 Jun 2020

Using stem cells to study the developmental effects of Neandertal DNA

Protocols that allow the transformation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines into organoids have changed the way scientists can study developmental processes and enable them to decipher the interplay between genes and tissue formation, particularly for organs where primary tissue is not available.

18 Jun 2020

AFFiRiS AG announces results of phase 1 trial with PD01A in Parkinson's

AFFiRiS AG, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel disease-modifying specific active immunotherapies (SAITs), today announced that detailed results of the phase 1 clinical program with its lead candidate PD01 in early Parkinson's disease (PD) patients were published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet Neurology.

18 Jun 2020

Novel SARS-CoV-2 antibody cocktail impeccably mimics human antibody response

By using both humanized mice and convalescent patients, the researchers from the US and Singapore successfully generated non-competing and highly potent monoclonal antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein that could potentially be combined to form antibody cocktails. Their groundbreaking paper is published in the leading research journal Science.

18 Jun 2020

Cyclosporin study may pave way for treating diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction

Cyclic peptide molecules of the fungal origin called cyclosporins were discovered in 1970's, and cyclosporin A soon became an important drug due to its immunosuppressive activity.

18 Jun 2020

COVID-19 pandemic may have negative consequences for mental health

The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected the physical lives of most people. But now there are also indications that the pandemic has negative consequences for the mental health of the people being infected, the healthcare professionals and the population as a whole.

18 Jun 2020

Study identifies a previously unknown mechanism that contributes to intestinal cancer

A MedUni Vienna study group has identified a previously unknown mechanism involved in the development of intestinal cancer: The bacterial microbiome activates the so-called immune checkpoint Ido1 in Paneth cells, a special cell that is only found in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby preventing local intestinal inflammation.

18 Jun 2020

Repurposing immunosuppressants to manage COVID-19

It might seem paradoxical to suggest immunosuppression could play a role in managing COVID-19. The seemingly logical therapeutic option for this disease would be an antiviral.

18 Jun 2020

New combination of biomarkers can benefit patients with advanced bladder cancer

In patients with metastatic bladder cancer, a novel combination of biomarkers from baseline tumor tissues was predictive of improved clinical responses and prolonged survival following treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

18 Jun 2020

UConn researchers tackle a vexing problem in the development of vaccines

Researchers at UConn's Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research have made a breakthrough in vaccine development for a common and difficult to treat pneumonia-causing pathogen. Their research was recently published in the Nature Partner Journal - Vaccines.

17 Jun 2020