Immune Response News and Research

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Cigarette smoke promotes bacteria colonization, immune invasion

The mouth is one of the "dirtiest" parts of the body, home to millions of germs. But puffing cigarettes can increase the likelihood that certain bacteria like Porphyromonas gingivalis will not only set up camp but will build a fortified city in the mouth and fight against the immune system.

1 Jun 2016

New, inexpensive blood test helps detect low levels of mycobacteria that causes bTB

A new blood test to detect Mycobacteria in blood has been developed by a team at The University of Nottingham led by Dr Cath Rees, an expert in microbiology in the School of Biosciences and Dr Ben Swift from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science.

1 Jun 2016

Oncologists combine two different types of immunotherapy to successfully treat metastatic melanoma

Oncologists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have successfully treated a patient with metastatic melanoma by combining two different types of immunotherapy. Cassian Yee and colleagues describe their approach in a paper, "Combined IL-21-primed polyclonal CTL plus CTLA4 blockade controls refractory metastatic melanoma in a patient," that will be published online May 30 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

30 May 2016

Researchers demonstrate decisive role of cholesterol in T cell activation

T cell receptors are an important part of the human immune system. They are able to switch their conformation from an inactive to an active state spontaneously without any antigens present.

28 May 2016

Certain HLA genes may increase ovarian cancer risk in women

Researchers in the Center for Immunotherapy at Roswell Park Cancer Institute have evaluated the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), a group of genes that help regulate the body's immune system, for underlying differences in ovarian cancer patients' response to therapy.

28 May 2016

Researchers discover ANKRD55 gene linked to multiple sclerosis

The Ikerbasque researcher Koen Vandenbroeck, who heads the Neurogenomiks laboratory which reports to the Achucarro centre and the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, together with other national and international groups, has shown that a genetic variant in the 5q11 chromosome, which is associated with susceptibility to developing multiple sclerosis, greatly regulates a gene known as ANKRD55. ANKRD55 is a gene with an unknown function.

28 May 2016

Malaria parasites use complement system to evade human immune response, study finds

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum hijacks an immune system process to invade red blood cells, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. Understanding how malaria invades the cells could lead to a more effective vaccine.

26 May 2016

SBP scientists discover new regulator of immune responses

Research led by scientists at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute has identified a new regulator of immune responses. The study, published recently in Immunity, sheds new light on why T cells fail to clear chronic infections and eliminate tumors.

26 May 2016

Japanese scientists find evidence that cytokine IL-17A plays crucial role in psoriasis

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition that affects some 125 million people worldwide. It is characterized by itchy, scaly skin plaques. The exact cause of psoriasis is unclear.

25 May 2016

Too much of sun exposure may cause hangover

Summer is preparing to make its debut in a few weeks, and along with it, most of us will flock to the outdoors to soak up sunshine and Vitamin D.

25 May 2016

National Cancer Moonshot initiative needs to target proteins that drive cancer

The National Cancer Moonshot initiative needs to move beyond genomics to target the proteins that are driving cancer, according to an Inova Health System and George Mason University collaborative paper published Thursday in the American Association for Cancer Research.

24 May 2016

Personalized DXM-loaded leukosomes may help treat inflammation

Nanosized Trojan horses created from a patient's own immune cells have successfully treated inflammation by overcoming the body's complex defense mechanisms, perhaps leading to broader applications for treating diseases characterized by inflammation, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

24 May 2016

Heart failure patients who receive influenza vaccine less likely to develop dementia

Influenza vaccination is associated with a lower risk of dementia in patients with heart failure, according to a study in more than 20 000 patients presented today at Heart Failure 2016 and the 3rd World Congress on Acute Heart Failure by Dr Ju-Chi Liu, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Taipei Medical University - Shuang Ho Hospital, in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

24 May 2016

Flu jab linked to reduced hospitalisation risk in heart failure patients

The flu jab is associated with a reduced risk of hospitalisation in patients with heart failure, according to research presented today in a late breaking trial session at Heart Failure 2016 and the 3rd World Congress on Acute Heart Failure.

24 May 2016

Ongoing treatment with nivolumab shows benefit in advanced kidney cancer patients

Only 12% of kidney cancer patients with advanced disease survive five years after their initial treatment. In a Roswell Park Cancer Institute-led study, scientists report that some patients with advanced kidney cancer who continued to receive a novel immunotherapy drug after their disease progressed saw clinical benefit.

24 May 2016

Researchers identify trigger for immune cells' inflammatory response

Scientists at the University of Bristol have identified the trigger for immune cells' inflammatory response - a discovery that may pave the way for new treatments for many human diseases.

23 May 2016

New collaborative research center to investigate promising aspects of mucosal immunology

Immunology - and the idea that many diseases can best be addressed by boosting the body's own immune response - is one of the hottest areas in medical research and clinical treatment.

22 May 2016

Wresting back control of CHI3L1 protein could stave off cancer spread in mice

For cancer to spread, the cells that take off into the bloodstream must find a tissue that will permit them to thrive. They don't just go looking, though. Instead, they actively prepare the tissue, in one case by co-opting a protein that suppresses defenses the body would otherwise mount.

21 May 2016

NS5 viral protein could be promising vaccine target against Zika virus

A viral protein known as NS5 is a promising target for vaccines against Zika and related viruses, according to National Institutes of Health scientists and colleagues at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine.

20 May 2016

Borrowed immune system may help combat cancer

A new step in cancer immunotherapy: researchers from the University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital and the Netherlands Cancer Institute show that even if one's own immune cells cannot recognize and fight their tumors, someone else's immune cells might.

20 May 2016