Immune Response News and Research

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Immune checkpoint inhibitor increases survival in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma

For the first time, an immune checkpoint inhibitor has been proven to increase survival among patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a patient population for whom treatment options are currently limited.

26 Sep 2015

UCSF researchers develop molecular 'on switch' that allows control over the actions of T cells

UC San Francisco researchers have engineered a molecular "on switch" that allows tight control over the actions of T cells, immune system cells that have shown great potential as therapies for cancer. The innovation lays the groundwork for sharply reducing severe, sometimes deadly side effects that have been a significant hurdle to advancing T cell-based treatments.

25 Sep 2015

Researchers extend innovative research towards a cure for type I diabetes

Associate Professor Shane Grey, of Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, together with collaborators from the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research and the Children's Hospital at Westmead, have been awarded $3.3 million to extend their innovative research towards a cure for type I diabetes.

23 Sep 2015

Novel mechanism may help explain the virulence of 1918 'Spanish' flu

While yearly outbreaks of flu kill about 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide, the 1918 "Spanish" flu infected one-third of the world's population and killed 50 million to 100 million. Chad Petit, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has discovered a novel mechanism for one 1918 flu virus protein that may help explain the virulence of that unusually deadly pandemic.

23 Sep 2015

Glide Technologies, Cilian collaborate to develop solid dose formulation of recombinant influenza vaccine

Glide Technologies, the development company focused on solid dose formulations of therapeutics and vaccines, today announced that it has entered a collaboration with German biotechnology company Cilian AG to develop a solid dose formulation of Cilian's experimental recombinant influenza vaccine, CiFlu, for delivery using Glide's patient-friendly SDI delivery device.

21 Sep 2015

Genetically engineered vaccine eradicates precancerous cervical lesions

Scientists have used a genetically engineered vaccine to successfully eradicate high-grade precancerous cervical lesions in nearly one-half of women who received the vaccine in a clinical trial. The goal, say the scientists, was to find nonsurgical ways to treat precancerous lesions caused by HPV.

18 Sep 2015

Key sequence in killer cells captured by Andor revolution microscope

Although much is known of the immune response to antigen-presenting cells, until now the way the body's own killer cells establish an immunological synapse to destroy those target cells has remained unclear. Now, an international research team led by Professor Gillian Griffiths of Cambridge University has resolved the key sequence of events using high-resolution 4D imaging.

15 Sep 2015

Ex-vivo lung perfusion technique can reduce risk of transplant rejection

University of Manchester researchers have used a new technique to recondition poorly functioning lungs and remove donor white blood cells in an attempt to increase the number of lungs available for transplant, and at the same time reduce the risk of acute rejection.

15 Sep 2015

Genetic mutations in deadly Ebola virus appear to block antibody-based treatments

Genetic mutations called "escape variants" in the deadly Ebola virus appear to block the ability of antibody-based treatments to ward off infection, according to a team of U.S. Army scientists and collaborators. Their findings, published online this week in the journal Cell Reports, have implications for the continued development of therapeutics to treat Ebola virus disease, which has claimed the lives of over 11,000 people in West Africa since last year.

14 Sep 2015

New UCLA study finds novel approach that may help delay declines in health

Why do some people remain healthy into their 80s and beyond, while others age faster and suffer serious diseases decades earlier? New research led by UCLA life scientists may produce a new way to answer that question -- and an approach that could help delay declines in health.

14 Sep 2015

Innovative vaccine therapy shows promise against glioblastoma brain tumors

An innovative vaccine therapy developed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute is being tested in a multisite clinical trial involving 50 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma brain tumors. The phase II study, now accruing patients at both Roswell Park and the Cleveland Clinic, will assess the effectiveness of the SurVaxM vaccine in combination with standard chemotherapy as treatment for this often-fatal cancer.

10 Sep 2015

Regular physical trauma may put professional football players at increased risk for hypertension

The regular physical trauma that appears to put professional football players at risk for degenerative brain disease may also increase their risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, researchers say.

9 Sep 2015

MD Anderson's Jim Allison named winner of 2015 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award

For inventing a completely new way to strike cancer by unlocking a shackled immune system attack, Jim Allison, Ph.D., chair of Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will receive the nation's highest honor for clinical medical research.

9 Sep 2015

Scientists discover mechanism that could lead to new treatment for allergies

Most people with allergies have to take medication throughout their life: Their body "thinks" that proteins from the environment are so "strange" that they elicit an immune reaction. Until present, it was not possible to develop an efficient therapy so that the body "learns" to stop in an overreacting way.

8 Sep 2015

University of Bonn researchers find how cells in the body can detect genetic material of retroviruses

Researchers at the University of Bonn have discovered how cells in the body can detect the genetic material of so-called retroviruses. The pathogen of the immunodeficiency disease AIDS, the HI-1 virus, also belongs to this group. At the same time, the HI virus appears to circumvent this important defense mechanism.

8 Sep 2015

Desmoplasmic melanoma may possess unprecedented burden of gene mutations, say UCSF scientists

A rare, deadly form of skin cancer known as desmoplasmic melanoma (DM) may possess the highest burden of gene mutations of any cancer, suggesting that immunotherapy may be a promising approach for treatment, according to an international team led by UC San Francisco scientists. One of these mutations, never before observed in any cancer, may shield nascent DM tumors from destruction by the immune system and allow further mutations to develop.

7 Sep 2015

Penn researchers identify viral products that trigger immune response against RSV infection

Almost all human beings are exposed to the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, before their second birthdays. For most, the symptoms mimic those of the common cold: runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fever.

4 Sep 2015

New treatments under development for adults with coeliac disease may also benefit children

A new study has revealed childhood coeliac disease mirrors the condition in adults, increasing the possibility a coeliac disease therapy that could enable patients to eat gluten again will work in children.

4 Sep 2015

UCLA scientists develop promising new combination treatment for glioblastoma

UCLA scientists have developed a potentially promising new combination therapy for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer.

2 Sep 2015

Volatile anesthetics may combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung

In use for more than a century, inhaled anesthetics like nitrous oxide and halothane have made modern surgery possible. Now, in experiments in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have added to evidence that certain so-called "volatile" anesthetics -- commonly used during surgeries -- may also possess powerful effects on the immune system that can combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, including influenza and pneumonia.