Immune System News and Research

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New technique may yield insights on the immune response to intestinal parasite infections

A new technique may help scientists study the body's immune response to intestinal parasite infections one gut cell at a time, according to a study published today in eLife.

11 Feb 2020

Macrophages migrate from the blood to attack brain tissue shortly after stroke

Macrophages are part of the innate immune system and essential for brain development and function. Using a novel method, scientists from Jena University Hospital, the University of Bonn and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York (USA) succeeded in visualizing macrophages that were formed in the bone marrow.

11 Feb 2020

DNA misfolding linked to heightened risk for Type 1 diabetes

It's known that genetics, or an inherited genome, is a major determinant of one's risk for autoimmune diseases, like Type 1 diabetes. In human cells, a person's genome--about six feet of DNA--is compressed into the micrometer space of the nucleus via a three-dimensional folding process.

11 Feb 2020

Developing enhanced personalized cancer vaccines

Therapeutic cancer vaccines were first developed 100 years ago and have remained broadly ineffective to date. Before tangible results can be achieved, two major obstacles must be overcome.

11 Feb 2020

Research shows how the brain's immune system could be activated to improve memory

When it comes to memory, immune cells are known as the "bad cops" of the brain. But new research shows they could also be turned into "good cops" to power memory and learning.

11 Feb 2020

Developmental shape-shifting is key to cancer's ability to spread and evade immune defenses

Just as people tend to become stuck in their ways as they grow older so too do cells. Neurons in the brain don't one day decide to become heart cells; skin cells repair wounds with skin cells rather than kidney cells.

11 Feb 2020

Free radicals from immune cells linked to salt-sensitive hypertension

In salt-sensitive hypertension, immune cells gather in the kidneys and shoot out free radicals, heightening blood pressure and damaging this pair of vital organs, scientists report.

11 Feb 2020

Bats' fierce immune response to viruses could drive zoonotic emergence

It's no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years -- SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus -- originated in bats.

10 Feb 2020

Metformin could help leaky gut

A team of researchers from University of California, San Diego, have successfully used gut organoids in their lab to show the effects of medications to treat conditions such as “leaky gut”. The study was titled, “The stress polarity signaling (SPS) pathway serves as a marker and a target in the leaky gut barrier: implications in aging and cancer,” and was published in the journal Life Science Alliance today.

10 Feb 2020

New study shows how tumors disable the immune system to survive and spread

The goal of most cancers is to grow and take over the host's body. The immune system has long been in the crosshairs of cancer researchers, as it plays a central role in defending the human body from foreign invasion.

10 Feb 2020

Research reveals novel way to treat cancers using CAR T cell therapy

Too many patients with cancers like multiple myeloma relapse after treatment. This grim reality motivated researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah to try to improve the depth and durability of treatment response in multiple myeloma through a new cancer cell targeting mechanism.

10 Feb 2020

High bacterial levels in half of lupus skin rashes

A new study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology reports that half the skin lesions present in patients with lupus show the presence of viable staph bacteria. This makes them more susceptible to skin infections and also increases the risk that the infection will spread to others.

9 Feb 2020

Discovery of potential cause of age-related macular degeneration

Age related macular degeneration or AMD leads to loss of vision in around 1.5 million people in the United Kingdom and millions of others around the world. In a new study researchers have discovered a new protein that could explain the causation and thus provide clues to its early diagnosis and effective treatment. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

9 Feb 2020

CRISPR-edited immune cells can be safely given to cancer patients

The emergence of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology has spurred hope in both doctors and patients since it shows promise in treating a multitude of diseases, including cancer. For the first time in the United States, a team of scientists has shown that CRISPR-edited immune cells can be safely used to cancer patients.

9 Feb 2020

Routine screenings prevent most cervical cancers

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, but most American women can prevent it by being screened with tests that detect human papillomaviruses (HPV).

9 Feb 2020

New strategies needed to reduce pneumococcal meningitis rates

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine have been highly effective in reducing pneumonia and other invasive infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.

9 Feb 2020

Powerful vaccine could boost the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy

Supercharging the mutation rate in cancer cells can create a powerful vaccine that is able to boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy, a major new study reports.

9 Feb 2020

New strategy uses iPSCs to regulate immune reaction to transplanted tissues

Scientists suggest a new strategy that uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to regulate immune reaction to transplanted tissues.

9 Feb 2020

Researchers offer new hope for diagnosis, treatment of age-related macular degeneration

Researchers have identified a new protein linked to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that could offer new hope for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, which affects over 1.5 million people in the UK alone.

8 Feb 2020

Childhood vaccine responses in sub-Saharan Africa depend on geography, age and anemia

Vaccine responses in the developing immune systems of children may depend on factors such as age, location and anemia status, according to a study comparing samples from 1,119 Dutch children to 171 children in sub-Saharan Africa who took part in a malaria vaccine trial.

6 Feb 2020