immunity News and Research

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Scientists discover molecular switch that ‘turns off’ HCMV

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an extremely common virus, which as other members of the herpes virus family causes life-long infections in humans. Most individuals are exposed to HCMV during childhood, yet symptoms can be easily fought off by a healthy immune system.

7 Apr 2015

CHLA infectious diseases specialist discusses how parents can prevent measles outbreak

Since December, there have been more than 130 confirmed cases of measles in the state of California, most of them connected to an outbreak that originated in a Southern California amusement park. Many of the infected persons were not vaccinated against the extremely contagious virus, which manifests itself through rash, fever and coughing.

6 Apr 2015

New approach could help identify novel drug targets to combat lethal fungal infections

By modifying the CRISPR-Cas genome editing system, Whitehead Institute researchers are now able to manipulate Candida albicans' genome systematically--an approach that could help identify novel targets for therapies against this serious pathogen for which there are a limited number of anti-fungal agents.

6 Apr 2015

Case Western Reserve researchers explore ways to treat, cure TB

After discovering a unique group of people resistant to tuberculosis (TB) infection, Case Western Reserve researchers are leading an international team dedicated to understanding exactly how they fight off a disease that claims 1.5 million lives each year.

6 Apr 2015

Microbes go dormant in the presence of SSV9 virus

The microbes could surrender to the harmless virus, but instead freeze in place, dormant, waiting for their potential predator to go away, according to a recent study in mBio.

3 Apr 2015

MRSA bacteria exposed to cigarette smoke become more resistant to antimicrobial peptides

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant superbug, can cause life-threatening skin, bloodstream and surgical site infections or pneumonia. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now report that cigarette smoke may make matters worse.

3 Apr 2015

Treating common gum disease in CKD patients could reduce heart disease risk

Treating a common gum condition in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients could significantly reduce their risk of potentially fatal heart disease, Aston University researchers say.

2 Apr 2015

International researchers examine efficacy of rVSV-ZEBOV-GP Ebola vaccine

The World Health Organisation declared the Ebola virus outbreak a public health emergency in August 2014; since then the development of vaccines against Ebola virus has been fast tracked.

2 Apr 2015

Study provides insights into basis for cognitive dysfunction

Scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health have identified a unique pattern of immune molecules in the cerebrospinal fluid of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) that provides insights into the basis for cognitive dysfunction--frequently described by patients as "brain fog"--as well as new hope for improvements in diagnosis and treatment.

31 Mar 2015

Rare genetic mutation explains why flu can kill in rare cases

Nobody likes getting the flu, but for some people, fluids and rest aren't enough. A small number of children who catch the influenza virus fall so ill they end up in the hospital — perhaps needing ventilators to breathe — even while their family and friends recover easily. New research by Rockefeller University scientists, published March 26 in Science, helps explain why: a rare genetic mutation.

30 Mar 2015

New Ebola vaccine shows promise in first phase 1 clinical trial

Results from the first phase 1 trial of an Ebola vaccine based on the current (2014) strain of the virus are today published in The Lancet. Until now, all tested Ebola virus vaccines have been based on the virus strain from the Zaire outbreak in 1976. The results suggest that the new vaccine is safe, and provokes an immune response in recipients, although further long-term testing will be needed to establish whether it can protect against the Ebola virus.

27 Mar 2015

Guinean Government initiates first efficacy trial of Ebola vaccine in Basse-Guinée

The Guinean Government with the World Health Organization initiated the very first efficacy trial of an Ebola vaccine this week in an affected community of the Basse-Guinée, one of the areas where most Ebola cases are found in the country.

27 Mar 2015

Study: HBV exposure increases immune system maturation of infants

A Singapore led study has shown that Hepatitis B Virus Infection (HBV) exposure increases the immune system maturation of infants, which may give a better survival advantage to counteract bacterial infection during early life. These findings radically modify the way that HBV vertical infection of neonates (mother-to-child) is portrayed, and present a paradigm shift in the approach to treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B.

26 Mar 2015

CMV-based vaccine provides long-lasting protective immunity against Ebola virus

A cytomegalovirus (CMV)-based vaccine provides long-lasting protective immunity against Ebola virus, and has potential for development as a disseminating vaccine strategy to prevent ebolavirus infection of wild African ape populations.

25 Mar 2015

Norovirus vaccine may be available in the future

A multivalent candidate vaccine elicits broad antibody responses to a range of norovirus strains, including strains not included in the vaccine or previously encountered by participants, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine.

25 Mar 2015

Study explains why COPD patients develop tolerance to roflumilast drug

Roflumilast, a drug recently approved in the United States to treat severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), increases the production of a protein that causes inflammation, which possibly results in patients developing a tolerance to the drug after repeated use and makes the drug less effective, according to researchers at Georgia State University, Kumamoto University and the University of Rochester Medical Center.

24 Mar 2015

Rigontec raises €4.8 million in second closing of Series A financing round

Rigontec GmbH, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing RNA-based immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases, today announces it has raised €4.8 million in a second closing of its Series A financing round from Forbion Capital Partners, a Dutch life-sciences venture capital firm, and Sunstone Capital, a Copenhagen based venture capital investor.

24 Mar 2015

EMA approves Baylor's hollow fiber system for development of TB drugs

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has approved the use of the hollow fiber system for the development of drugs to treat and prevent tuberculosis (TB).

24 Mar 2015

Low zinc levels in older adults correspond with increased chronic inflammation

Zinc, an important mineral in human health, appears to affect how the immune system responds to stimulation, especially inflammation, new research from Oregon State University shows.

23 Mar 2015

Researchers discover new metabolic mechanisms linked to macrophage polarization

A group of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, Agios Pharmaceuticals and ITMO University has discovered new metabolic mechanisms that regulate macrophage polarization - the unique ability of these immune cells to change their specialization depending on the required task.

18 Mar 2015