Autoimmunity News and Research

RSS

Autoimmune Disease is a condition in which the body recognizes its own tissues as foreign and directs an immune response against them.

Saint Louis University researchers find way to prevent type I diabetes in animal model

In new research published in Endocrinology, Thomas Burris, Ph.D., chair of pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University, reports that his team has found a way to prevent type I diabetes in an animal model.

21 Jan 2015

Endogenous retroviruses play critical role in body's immune defense against bacterial, viral pathogens

Retroviruses are best known for causing contagious scourges such as AIDS, or more sporadically, cancer.

23 Dec 2014

Endogenous retroviruses also play critical role in the body's immune defense against pathogens

Retroviruses are best known for causing contagious scourges such as AIDS, or more sporadically, cancer.

19 Dec 2014

Phenotyping human diseases in mice: an interview with Professor Carola Vinuesa

One of the main obstacles to finding effective therapies for human diseases has been our limited understanding of disease pathogenesis: we lack detailed knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to the development of disease.

30 Nov 2014

BWH researchers identify two-faced role of TIM-3 protein

A Brigham and Women's Hospital-led team has identified a long sought-after partner for a key immune protein, called TIM-3, that helps explain its two-faced role in the immune system -- sometimes dampening it, other times stimulating it. This newly identified partner not only sheds light on the inner workings of the immune system in diseases such as HIV, autoimmunity, and cancer, but also provides a critical path toward the development of novel treatments that target TIM-3.

26 Nov 2014

Type 3 interferons and T helper 2 cells: an interview with Grant Gallagher, Managing Director, HUMIGEN

The type 3 interferons - usually called the “lambda” interferons, or “IFNL” - are the most recently identified IFNs. We (myself and Sergei Kotenko) originally identified the receptor and then the three ligands (IFNL1,2,3; very recently a fourth, IFNL4, was discovered); the key paper was published in 2003.

18 Nov 2014

Study points to major role of obesity in triggering, prolonging autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases like Crohn's Disease and multiple sclerosis, in which the immune system attacks its own body rather than predatory invaders, affect 5-20% of the global community. A study published recently in Autoimmunity Reviews by Prof. Yehuda Shoenfeld, the Laura Schwarz-Kipp Chair for Research of Autoimmune Diseases at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Head of Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases at Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, points to the major role obesity plays in triggering and prolonging these autoimmune diseases.

11 Nov 2014

New study pinpoints complex genetic origins for autoimmune diseases

Scores of autoimmune diseases afflicting one in 12 Americans — ranging from type 1 diabetes, to multiple sclerosis (MS), to rheumatoid arthritis, to asthma — mysteriously cause the immune system to harm tissues within our own bodies. Now, a new study pinpoints the complex genetic origins for many of these diseases, a discovery that may lead to better diagnosis and ultimately to improved treatments.

30 Oct 2014

Vascular receptor autoantibodies implicated in SSc-PAH

medwireNews: Autoantibodies to endothelin receptor type A and angiotensin receptor type-1 predict the development of, and mortality from, systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension, research suggests.

22 Oct 2014

New findings could pave way for treating autoimmune diseases

Scientists from A*STAR's Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have established a clearer relationship between two cells which serve our body's natural defence mechanisms against diseases and infections.

26 Sep 2014

NIH awards grants to 11 research groups to establish AMP RA/Lupus Network

The National Institutes of Health has awarded grants to 11 research groups across the United States to establish the Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus (AMP RA/Lupus) Network.

25 Sep 2014

Researchers discover new details of how autoantibodies destroy healthy cells in skin

University at Buffalo researchers and colleagues studying a rare, blistering disease have discovered new details of how autoantibodies destroy healthy cells in skin.

11 Sep 2014

Belgian receives research grant from Jeffrey Modell to help cure IPEX syndrome

For the first time the Jeffrey Modell Foundation is giving a research grant to a Belgian laboratory. The team of Adrian Liston from VIB-KU Leuven will use the grant to develop a gene therapy to cure children that suffer from IPEX syndrome, a rare and fatal autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues and organs.

9 Sep 2014

New biomarker may improve diagnosis of early-stage rheumatoid arthritis

A novel biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has significant potential to help physicians better identify early-stage disease, when treatment can often arrest further disease progression and disability, according to a new study in The Journal of Rheumatology.

From Quest Diagnostics 28 Aug 2014

Study identifies novel gene that controls nerve conduction velocity linked with MS

A new study published in The American Journal of Pathology identifies a novel gene that controls nerve conduction velocity.

13 Aug 2014

Immune system play role in memory impairment associated with chronic epilepsy

Could the body's own immune system play a role in memory impairment and cognitive dysfunction associated with conditions like chronic epilepsy, Alzheimer's dementia and concussions? Cleveland Clinic researchers believe so, based on a study published online by PLOS ONE.

25 Jul 2014

Researchers discover how metal beryllium triggers deadly immune response in the lungs

Using exquisitely detailed maps of molecular shapes and the electrical charges surrounding them, researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered how the metal beryllium triggers a deadly immune response in the lungs.

3 Jul 2014

Australian immunologists uncover additional role for antibody-making 'B cells'

A discovery by Australian immunologists, uncovering an additional role for antibody-making 'B cells', is considered important enough by the American Association of Immunologists to rank it among the top 10% of articles in the latest issue of The Journal of Immunology, off the press today.

2 Jul 2014

Researchers find unique cell type that can protect against uveitis

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have found a unique cell type that, in tests on mice, can protect against uveitis—a group of inflammatory diseases that affect the eye and can cause vision loss.

1 Jul 2014

Researchers find shared genetic link in autoimmune response among PV patients

Autoimmune disease occurs when the body's own natural defense system rebels against itself. One example is pemphigus vulgaris (PV), a blistering skin disease in which autoantibodies attack desmoglein 3 (Dsg3), the protein that binds together skin cells.

19 Jun 2014