Immune System News and Research

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New study finds key factors behind differences in immune responses

Age, sex, and specific human genetic variants are the key factors behind differences between immune responses among healthy humans, finds a study of 1,000 individuals carried out by EPFL and the Pasteur Institute.

6 Aug 2018

Clinical trial to use stem cell transplants for treating Crohn's disease

A clinical trial has begun which will use stem cell transplants to grow a new immune system for people with untreatable Crohn's disease - a painful and chronic intestinal disease which affects at least 115,000 people in the UK.

6 Aug 2018

Research uncovers new approach for expanding stem cells from umbilical cord blood

Researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and collaborators have identified a way to expand blood-forming, adult stem cells from human umbilical cord blood.

3 Aug 2018

Understanding the role of inflammatory cytokines in creating T cell exhaustion in cancer

A better understanding of the role secreted inflammatory cytokines play in the tumor microenvironment that results in the differentiation of effector T cells into exhausted T cells points to possible approaches to improve the antitumor activity of T cells and to intervene in T cell exhaustion.

3 Aug 2018

Study highlights impact of silent viruses on how the host responds to vaccines

UC Davis researchers have shown that low levels of cytomegalovirus (CMV) have a significant impact on microbe and immune cell populations and how the immune system responds to the influenza vaccine. The study was published in the Journal of Virology.

3 Aug 2018

Study sheds new light on link between calorie-burning fat and muscle function

Abundant in human babies and small mammals, brown adipose tissue, or brown fat, was only recently discovered in human adults, and its role remains unclear.

3 Aug 2018

CHOP experts identify new autoimmune disorder along with personalized treatment for young patient

Elijah Patino is a happy, healthy seven-year-old now, but it took a while to get there. For much of his life, he had a mysterious disease that made it painful to eat and painful to play.

2 Aug 2018

Obesity increases viral shedding duration in adults with influenza A

Obesity, which increases influenza disease severity, also extends by about 1.5 days how long influenza A virus is shed from infected adults compared to non-obese adults, according to a multi-year study of two cohorts of Nicaraguan households.

2 Aug 2018

Researchers use DNA editing tool to reveal mechanisms behind autoimmune diseases

A group of researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil used a DNA editing tool called CRISPR/Cas9 to manipulate on of the genes associated to the autoaggressive T lymphocytes responsible for inducing autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 and type 1 diabetes.

2 Aug 2018

Mice study shows mother's dengue immunity protects unborn from ZIKA infection

Dengue and Zika viruses are closely related and carried by mosquitos. In infested subtropical and tropical areas, dengue transmission often precedes Zika virus infection, suggesting that women who previously acquired dengue immunity may be bitten by ZIKV-carrying mosquitoes during pregnancy.

2 Aug 2018

Microscopic imaging helps better understand cancer bone metastasis

Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have engineered a system allowing microscopic monitoring and imaging of cancer that has spread to the bone in mice so they can better understand and develop treatment for bone metastasis in humans.

2 Aug 2018

60 percent not breastfed in the first hour of life

All babies should be put to their mother’s breast within an hour of their birth for breast feeding recommends the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The first milk or the colostrum is known to have several health and nutritional benefits for the baby. A new report has found that nearly 60 percent of the babies are not breast fed within the first hour after their birth. This raises their risk of later illness and even death.

1 Aug 2018

Researchers find possible active substance that may cure hepatitis E

An international team of researchers has now found a possible active substance against the virus in the naturally occurring substance silvestrol.

1 Aug 2018

UC Davis expert explains about surge in HPV-related throat cancer

Humanpapilloma virus is now the leading cause of certain types of throat cancer. Dr. Michael Moore, director of head and neck surgery at UC Davis and an HPV-related cancer expert, answers some tough questions about the trend and what can be done about it.

1 Aug 2018

Tests show Drexel's polymer crystal nanocapsules can last longer in bloodstream

Selecting the right packaging to get precious cargo from point A to point B can be a daunting task at the post office. For some time, scientists have wrestled with a similar set of questions when packaging medicine for delivery in the bloodstream:

1 Aug 2018

Researchers discover how chronic infections can outsmart the immune system

Like many chronic infections, visceral leishmaniasis thwarts the immune system's defenses so it can settle comfortably into its host.

1 Aug 2018

Gene linked to hair loss could be exploited to improve cancer immunotherapy

A gene that's associated with an autoimmune form of hair loss could be exploited to improve cancer immunotherapy, suggests a new mouse study by Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) researchers.

31 Jul 2018

Researchers investigate potential of injectable trace minerals to keep dairy cows healthier

When dairy cattle consume aflatoxin-contaminated feed, they are lethargic, their appetite wanes, they produce less milk, and their immune system goes awry.

31 Jul 2018

Drug that treats diabetes found to exert powerful check on macrophages in controlling inflammation

When tissue is damaged, one of the body's first inflammatory immune-system responders are macrophages, cells which are commonly thought of as "construction workers" that clear away damaged tissue debris and initiate repair.

28 Jul 2018

Discovery opens up new ways to tackle growing threat of untreatable gonorrhea

Good news in the battle against the growing threat of drug-resistant “super gonorrhea”: Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and their collaborators in the United Kingdom have discovered a new way that the bacteria that cause gonorrhea resist the body’s immune defenses.

27 Jul 2018