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Cryptococcus research: an interview with Associate Professor Kirsten Nielsen

Cryptococcus is a fungus found in the environment throughout the world that is able to cause disease in humans. While most fungal pathogens don’t receive as much press as their bacterial or viral counterparts, they can be just as deadly.

1 Jun 2016

Over-expression of heme oxygenase-1 enzyme protects the heart from doxorubicin damage

Life-threatening heart damage is an adverse side effect of the cancer drug doxorubicin, damage that also limits the use of newer chemotherapeutic agents such as trastuzumab and imatinib. The ability to protect the heart from these side effects would benefit patients, including cancer survivors who are at risk of developing heart damage years later, and it also could allow safer use of these drugs at higher doses.

26 Feb 2016

UA researchers find genetic mutations associated with respiratory disease

Asthma affects more than 278 million people worldwide and can lead to serious consequences later in life. While current approved therapies address symptoms, they do not halt disease progression.

11 Jan 2016

New approach to regulate people's cholesterol levels

A discovery about how the body deals with the cholesterol contained within its dying cells has suggested an exciting new approach to control people's cholesterol levels - and thus their risk of developing heart disease.

19 Nov 2015

Key part of MRSA vaccine puzzle unearthed

Immunologists from Trinity College Dublin have unearthed a key piece of the MRSA vaccine puzzle by identifying specific ‘helper’ cells whose role in the immune response is critical in affecting infection outcomes.

9 Nov 2015

New Christian Doppler Laboratory for Complement Research opens at MedUni Vienna

Today the new Christian Doppler Laboratory for Complement Research was opened at the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology at MedUni Vienna. The research institute, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economic Affairs (BMWFW) is concentrating on a special protein that is thought to play an important role in controlling excessive immune reactions.

26 Jun 2015

Researchers identify phenomenon that explains effects of oxidative stress on immune cells

You're up in the mountains, the snow is blindingly white, and the sun is blazing down from the sky: ideal skiing conditions - but any skiers carrying the herpes virus might also have to reckon with the onset of cold sores after their day out.

10 Apr 2015

Discovery offers much needed information about how virulent insect-borne diseases cause infection

For decades, scientists have thought the bacteria that cause the bubonic plague hijack host cells at the site of a fleabite and are then taken to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria multiply and trigger severe disease. But UNC School of Medicine researchers discovered that this accepted theory is off base. The bacteria do not use host cells; they traffic to lymph nodes on their own and not in great numbers.

16 Feb 2015

Research findings demonstrate new approach to transform behavior of tumor cells

Inserting a specific strain of bacteria into the microenvironment of aggressive ovarian cancer transforms the behavior of tumor cells from suppression to immunostimulation, researchers at Norris Cotton Cancer Center and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth have found.

5 Feb 2015

Artificial cells to devour undesirables: an interview with Dr. Takanari Inoue

If junk is not removed, pathological conditions can develop. For example, in one condition, the neutrophil count significantly decreases. Neutrophils remove pathogens and people with a reduced neutrophil count are more prone to infection, especially to rare bacteria that wouldn’t cause infection under normal conditions.

3 Sep 2014

Clear advances in the fight against tuberculosis are within reach, say immunologists

Leading immunologists expect to see some clear advances in the fight against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that is widespread the world over. Professor Stefan Kaufmann, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, echoed these sentiments at today's launch of the scientific programme for the 64th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting at Lindau, Germany.

2 Jul 2014

TSRI scientists receive $2.3M to study viruses that cause tropical diseases

The outbreak of dengue fever that infected some 20 people in Florida's Martin County late last year unnerved many who feared the tropical disease had once again established a foothold in Florida. The last outbreaks occurred in 2009 and 2010 in Key West—before that, the disease hadn't struck Florida in more than 70 years.

28 Mar 2014

Extracts from birch tree helps damaged skin around wounds to regenerate more quickly

Extracts from the birch tree have served for centuries as a traditional means of helping the damaged skin around wounds to regenerate more quickly. Prof. Dr. Irmgard Merfort from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Freiburg and her team have now explained the molecular mechanism behind the wound-healing effect of an extract from the outer white layer of the tree's bark.

24 Jan 2014

Researchers identify central switch by which HDL controls inflammatory response

High-density lipoprotein, known colloquially as "good cholesterol", protects against dangerous deposits in the arteries. An important function of HDL is its anti-inflammatory properties. An international research team at the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University Hospital of Bonn and the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn has identified a central switch by which HDL controls the inflammatory response. The results are presented in the current issue of "Nature Immunology".

9 Dec 2013

Little STING could go long way in avoiding arthritis, type 1 diabetes, report researchers

A little STING could go a long way in helping treat or even avoid autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, researchers report.

10 Sep 2013

Researchers identify new culprit that likely plays big role in severity of asthma

MD-A new culprit has been identified that likely plays a big role in the severity of asthma-a small protein chemokine called CCL26. These findings were published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology and represent the first demonstration that CCL26 is a potent regulator of the migration of asthmatic eosinophils, commonly observed in asthmatic airways. Results from this discovery may lead to new drug targets for the treatment of asthma.

2 Aug 2013

Scientists say DHA-rich fish oil enhances B cell activity

Fish oil rich in DHA and EPA is widely believed to help prevent disease by reducing inflammation, but until now, scientists were not entirely sure about its immune enhancing effects. A new report appearing in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, helps provide clarity on this by showing that DHA-rich fish oil enhances B cell activity, a white blood cell, challenging the notion that fish oil is only immunosuppressive.

2 Apr 2013

Study: Novel strategy could lead to universal influenza vaccine that can provide long-lasting protection

Seasonal epidemics of influenza result in nearly 36,000 deaths annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Current vaccines against the influenza virus elicit an antibody response specific for proteins on the outside of the virus, specifically the hemagglutinin protein.

15 Mar 2013

Researchers characterize brain's immune response to infiltrating metastases

Brain metastases are common secondary complications of other types of cancer, particularly lung, breast and skin cancer. The body's own immune response in the brain is rendered powerless in the fight against these metastases by inflammatory reactions. Researchers at the MedUni Vienna have now, for the first time, precisely characterised the brain's immune response to infiltrating metastases. This could pave the way to the development of new, less aggressive treatment options.

26 Sep 2012

Scientists decipher molecular causes of life-threatening candida fungal infections

With infectious diseases, it is often not the pathogen itself, but rather an excessive inflammatory immune responses death, for instance as a result of organ damage. On intensive care units, sepsis is the second-most common cause of death worldwide. In patients with a severely compromised immune system specially, life-threatening candida fungal infections represent a high risk of sepsis.

30 Jul 2012