Immune System News and Research

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Researchers uncover an active role of glycans in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, researchers are working overtime to develop vaccines and therapies to thwart SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the disease Many efforts focus on the coronavirus spike protein, which binds the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on human cells to allow viral entry.

24 Sep 2020

Researchers develop 'Trojan horse' approach to destroy cancer cells

Cancer cells are killed in lab experiments and tumour growth reduced in mice, using a new approach that turns a nanoparticle into a 'Trojan horse' that causes cancer cells to self-destruct, a research team at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has found.

23 Sep 2020

New T-cell-based vaccine strategy provides broader protection against seasonal influenza

As Americans begin pulling up their sleeves for an annual flu vaccine, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have provided new insights into an alternative vaccine approach that provides broader protection against seasonal influenza.

23 Sep 2020

Infants born to women with COVID-19 show few adverse outcomes

Infants born to women with COVID-19 showed few adverse outcomes, according to the first report in the country of infant outcomes through eight weeks of age.

23 Sep 2020

HIV drugs cause immune-system changes that can improve resistance to viral infections

Drugs currently used to keep the HIV virus in check also cause immune-system changes that might make humans better able to resist viral infections – but might also cause harmful inflammation, according to a study published today in Cell Reports Medicine.

23 Sep 2020

Children exhibit distinct immune system responses against COVID-19

Children and adults exhibit distinct immune system responses to infection by the virus that causes COVID-19, a finding that helps explain why COVID-19 outcomes tend to be much worse in adults, researchers from Yale and Albert Einstein College of Medicine report Sept. 18 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

23 Sep 2020

Research explains why flu is dangerous for pregnant women

A team of researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University explains why flu can lead to potentially fatal complications during pregnancy, suggesting that the virus does not only stay in the respiratory tract but spreads throughout the body.

22 Sep 2020

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients may face increased risk for kidney injury

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 may face an increased risk for kidney injury, a dreaded complication for those suffering from infection with the novel 2019 coronavirus, an observational study led by University of Michigan researchers has found.

22 Sep 2020

Targeted treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus

A team of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, have successfully treated two patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus.

22 Sep 2020

Men are dying from COVID-19 at a higher rate than women

A new review article from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center shows people who are biologically male are dying from COVID-19 at a higher rate than people who are biologically female.

22 Sep 2020

Research consortium receives $111 million NCI grant to prevent, treat HIV-related cancers

The widespread use of antiretroviral therapy to suppress the HIV virus has helped tens of millions of people with HIV live healthier, longer lives--but an unfortunate consequence of people living longer with HIV is an increased risk of cancer.

22 Sep 2020

Discovering a molecule that could interfere with SARS-CoV-2 replication

In this interview, News-Medical speaks to Stepan Nersisyan about his discovery of a molecule that could replicate SARS-CoV-2.

22 Sep 2020

Cats’ immune system can deal with SARS-CoV-2, shows study

On 8 May 2020, the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) reported the case of the first cat infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Spain. It was a 4-year-old cat called Negrito, who lived with a family affected by COVID-19, with one case of death.

22 Sep 2020

Nanoparticle SARS-CoV-2 model could potentially speed the search for drugs

A team of scientists from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., has developed a new tool that mimics how SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- infects a cell, information that could potentially speed the search for treatments against the disease.

22 Sep 2020

Impaired cytotoxic T cell response found in in elderly COVID-19 patients

Although people of any age can become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, elderly patients face a higher risk of severity and death than younger patients.

22 Sep 2020

Consumption of cooked carrots can also trigger allergic reactions, finds study

The consumption of raw carrots triggers allergic reactions in many people. Contrary to popular belief, cooked carrots can also have this effect.

21 Sep 2020

BU researchers find how SARS-CoV-2 infection may drive deadly lung inflammation

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, requires models that can duplicate disease development in humans, identify potential targets and enable drug testing.

21 Sep 2020

Study: Greater exercise capacity is linked to decreased mortality risk in people with type 2 diabetes

New research presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year, shows that having a greater exercise capacity is associated with a significantly decreased all-cause mortality risk of between 25-33% in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

21 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infects monocytes and macrophages, without cytopathic effect

A team of researchers from Aix-Marseille Univ, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Institut Paoli Calmettes and Laboratoire d’Immunologie, Marseille, France, conducted experiments to determine if SARS-CoV-2 can affect the myeloid compartment or infect monocytes and macrophages.

20 Sep 2020

Study identifies new regions of positive selection in SARS-CoV-2

Based on structural modeling of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins, the researchers from Duke University argue that newly identified regions of positive selection in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) likely affect species-specific RNA instead of protein function – improving our understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for highly unique biological properties of this virus.

20 Sep 2020