Immune Response News and Research

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Study examines impact of maternal obesity on inflammatory responses

A number of different immunological mechanisms ensure the successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Imbalance in these mechanisms is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.

11 Jan 2012

Infectious disease-fighting drugs could be designed to block pathogen's entry into cells

New research shows that infectious disease-fighting drugs could be designed to block a pathogen's entry into cells rather than to kill the bug itself.

11 Jan 2012

CMS increases NLA for T-SPOT.TB test's CPT code 86481

Oxford Immunotec, Inc. announces that, following a reconsideration request made by the company, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has increased the national limitation amount (NLA) for the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 86481 which is used for the T-SPOT.TB test.

10 Jan 2012

Merck selects Idera Pharmaceuticals' TLR agonists for evaluation, use as vaccine adjuvant candidates

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has selected several novel Toll-like Receptor agonists targeted to TLR7, TLR8 or TLR9 for evaluation and use as vaccine adjuvant candidates under the companies' collaboration and license agreement.

9 Jan 2012

MPIIB, QIAGEN partner to develop latent TB diagnostic test

QIAGEN N.V. and the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB), Department of Immunology have announced a new collaboration to develop a molecular diagnostic test to assess the risk of an individual with latent tuberculosis (TB) developing active TB disease during their lifetime.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 9 Jan 2012

Positive results from BioCryst's BCX4208 Phase 2b study on gout

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced long-term results from the extension phase of its randomized Phase 2b study of BCX4208 added to allopurinol in patients with gout who had failed to reach the serum uric acid (sUA) therapeutic goal of <6 mg/dL on allopurinol alone.

8 Jan 2012

Researchers identify potential target for schistosomiasis vaccine

In the complicated life cycle of ancient flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, Case Western Reserve University researchers have identified a gene activator crucial to development of the parasites within humans - a potential target for a vaccine.

6 Jan 2012

Combination of cancer drugs shows promise against Pompe disease

Kids with Pompe disease fail because of a missing enzyme, GAA, that leads to dangerous sugar build-up, which affects muscles and movement. An enzyme replacement treatment pioneered at Duke University has saved many lives, but some children with Pompe disease produce an immune reaction that blocks the benefits of the life-saving enzyme treatment.

6 Jan 2012

Hepatitis C vaccine succeeds in an early phase clinical trial

An early phase clinical trial of a hepatitis C vaccine has shown promising results, according to researchers at Oxford University. The virus causing Hepatitis C is a difficult one since it changes its appearance, making creation of a vaccine against it a challenge.

5 Jan 2012

NovaSterilis awarded soft tissue processing patent

NovaSterilis Inc., specializing in developing applications for supercritical carbon dioxide, has been granted US Patent 8,034,288 B2. The patent, dated October 11, 2011 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Cleaning of Viable Donor Soft Tissue”, covers a new method for cleaning soft allograft tissue including tendon, fascia, and skin with a supercritical fluid, thus avoiding other harmful chemical solvents that may leave residual chemicals.

4 Jan 2012

Amyloid precursor protein fragment may be a biomarker for autism

Immune system abnormalities that mimic those seen with autism spectrum disorders have been linked to the amyloid precursor protein (APP), reports a research team from the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and the Silver Child Development Center.

4 Jan 2012

Children with biliary atresia better tolerate maternal liver grafts

Children with a rare, life-threatening disease that is the most common cause of neonatal liver failure - biliary atresia - better tolerate liver transplants from their mothers than from their fathers, according to a UCSF-led study.

4 Jan 2012

Alteration in ISG15 pathway triggers breast cancer metastasis

Research led by Shyamal Desai, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has discovered a key change in the body's defense system that increases the potential for breast cancer to spread to other parts of the body.

4 Jan 2012

Woman's ovarian cycle plays an important role in her susceptibility to infection

A new research report in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that a woman's ovarian cycle plays an important role in her susceptibility to infection.

4 Jan 2012

Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 gets US approval for adults

Health authorities of United States have approved the expansion of Pfizer Inc's Prevnar vaccine for use in adults 50 and older to fight pneumonia, meningitis and other diseases cause by pneumococcus bacteria. The vaccine, which had been approved for children in the United States, is already one of Pfizer's biggest brands and an expanded population of adults could generate more than $1.5 billion in annual sales.

2 Jan 2012

Critical considerations for adenovirus-based HIV vaccine trials

A clinical trial testing a candidate HIV vaccine known as the STEP study was halted in September 2007 after interim analysis indicated that the vaccine did not work. Moreover, subsequent analyses indicated that the vaccine made some individuals more susceptible to HIV, in particular individuals who had pre-existing immune effectors (antibodies) that recognized a component of the vaccine (adenovirus serotype 5 [Ad5]).

28 Dec 2011

Faulty lipid metabolism may cause MS, says forensic anthropologist

An article to be published in the December 2011 issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology argues that multiple sclerosis, long viewed as primarily an autoimmune disease, is not actually a disease of the immune system.

23 Dec 2011

FLT-PET imaging can effectively detect mantle cell lymphoma

Positron emission tomography (PET) and a molecular imaging agent that captures the proliferation of cancer cells could prove to be a valuable method for imaging a form of Non-Hodgkin's disease called mantle cell lymphoma, a relatively rare and devastating blood cancer.

22 Dec 2011

Malaria vaccine shows early success

An experimental vaccine for malaria has been developed by British scientists. It has shown early potential to neutralize many, perhaps all, strains of the deadliest malaria parasite.

21 Dec 2011