Immune System News and Research

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Live-cell, genetically engineered pig skin used for temporary closure of a burn wound

Burn specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital announced today they have successfully used live-cell, genetically engineered pig skin (xenograft) for the temporary closure of a burn wound.

11 Oct 2019

€7.6 million ERC Synergy grant to support research on molecular mechanisms of viral infection

The interdisciplinary team wants to investigate the molecular mechanisms of viral infection, which will contribute to fundamental knowledge about cellular regulation and new concepts for broad-spectrum anti-viral therapy. The funding amounts to 7.6 million euros.

11 Oct 2019

New study shows how immune cells process and use energy

For years, scientists have used cells grown in petri dishes to study the metabolic processes that fuel the immune system. But a new report in Immunity suggests looking outside the dish and into living organisms gives a drastically different view of the way immune cells process and use energy.

11 Oct 2019

Vaccine against gastrin may slow spread of pancreatic cancer

New research suggests a vaccine that blocks a digestive hormone may slow the spread of pancreatic cancer, potentially increasing survival rates. The study, published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, was chosen as an APSselect article for October.

10 Oct 2019

Fetal gut has more well-developed immune capabilities than previously thought

Most biology textbooks explain that the fetal immune system is largely undeveloped and that it learns after being exposed to the world at birth. New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh challenges that paradigm, and provides the first comprehensive look at the immune system of the developing gut.

10 Oct 2019

Scientists show how the immune system reacts to Ebola vaccine

Following the dramatic Ebola epidemic in West Africa from 2013 to 2016, viral infections have spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2018. Since then, more than 2,100 deaths have been reported and the number of victims and new infections increases daily.

10 Oct 2019

Scientists uncover details of antibody response to Ebola virus vaccine

In the recurring, deadly Ebola outbreaks in parts of Africa, today's health workers now have at least some tools to fight the disease: vaccines. Vaccines against Ebola have been administered to over 100,000 people to date, but they are barely out of the experimental stage.

10 Oct 2019

Scientists find new evidence on latent HIV reservoir

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can suppress HIV to the point where the virus is nearly undetectable, and people on medication can live many years.

10 Oct 2019

How do gallstones form?

The human body is known to produce stones in various locations, most commonly in the kidneys, the bladder, the gallbladder and the appendix. Many of these stones appear without any obvious reason. However, a new study published in the journal Immunity shows the whole storyline for the first time: how gallstones are formed.

9 Oct 2019

New algorithm hand-picks which cancer mutations are promising targets for immunotherapy

As tumor cells multiply, they often spawn tens of thousands of genetic mutations. Figuring out which ones are the most promising to target with immunotherapy is like finding a few needles in a haystack.

9 Oct 2019

Initial use of ART alters host environment to allow formation of long-lived HIV reservoir

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can suppress HIV to the point where the virus is nearly undetectable, and people on medication can live many years. But therapy cannot completely eradicate the virus; it persists in reservoirs inside immune cells, a phenomenon called "latency."

9 Oct 2019

Researchers discover most virulent representatives of listeriosis pathogen

The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a life-threatening infection in animals and humans. Contaminated food is a frequent source of infection. Elderly people, people with a weakened immune system and pregnant women are particularly at risk with a mortality rate of up to 30 per cent.

9 Oct 2019

Scientists demonstrate potential method for treating advanced liver cancers

Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The most common primary liver cancer in adults is known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and accounts for approximately 780,000 deaths every year.

9 Oct 2019

New discovery brings scientists closer to developing an RSV vaccine

Scientists have made an important discovery that could lead to a vaccine that will protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

9 Oct 2019

Unique immune cell linked to remission in patients with triple negative breast cancer

A unique type of immune cell has been discovered in human breast tissue, and breast cancer patients with more of these cells are more likely to survive, finds new research from the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London.

From The Francis Crick Institute 9 Oct 2019

Vaccine for deadly RSV could be on the way, scientists say

A vaccine for the common and sometimes deadly RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) has been elusive, but scientists say a new discovery puts them much closer to success.

9 Oct 2019

CDC advises vaccination for pregnant women against flu and whooping cough

The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has recommended that all pregnant women should be vaccinated against influenza and whooping cough to provide protection to the baby against these deadly infections during the first few months of their lives. The CDC recommendation released this week Tuesday (8th of October 2019), is that these vaccines against flu and whooping cough are safe for pregnant women and do not affect their unborn babies adversely.

9 Oct 2019

Scientists discover new patterns in the evolution of the influenza virus

Researchers from Skoltech have found that the devious influenza virus is capable of new patterns of evolution and mutation in order to escape treatment with the currently available drugs and prevention with the currently available vaccines. This discovery however could help researchers predict the potential mutations in the genome of the virus and ultimately help them develop and design more effective vaccines against influenza.

9 Oct 2019

Combination treatment cures pancreatic cancer, reprograms the immune system

A University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute research team reports that combining a type of radiation therapy with immunotherapy not only cures pancreatic cancer in mice, but appears to reprogram the immune system to create an "immune memory" in the same way that a vaccine keeps the flu away.

8 Oct 2019

Scientists make genetic data available for bacteria linked to Crohn's disease

Scientists have made genetic data publicly available for bacteria that might be lurking inside the gut walls of patients chronically affected with severe Crohn's disease.

8 Oct 2019