Immune System News and Research

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Small piece of detoxified E. coli wall makes mice lose natural sweet tooth, study finds

Putting just a tiny piece of the wall of detoxified E. coli into their gut make mice lose their natural sweet tooth, researchers report.

20 Apr 2016

Scientists identify underlying cause of immune suppression in people with high level spinal cord injuries

Scientists report in Nature Neuroscience they have identified an underlying cause of dangerous immune suppression in people with high level spinal cord injuries and they propose a possible treatment.

19 Apr 2016

Researchers focus on novel target to treat bacterial infection

Bacterial infection takes hold in the body when a pathogenic microorganism delivers toxins to healthy cells. One way bacteria accomplish this is by releasing vesicles, which act as tiny envelopes transporting toxins and other virulence factors to host cells. These toxins allow the bacteria to "make themselves at home" in cells.

19 Apr 2016

Removing immunomodulatory protein improves symptoms of muscular dystrophy in mice

Removing an immunomodulatory protein called osteopontin improves the symptoms of mice with muscular dystrophy by changing the type of macrophages acting on damaged muscle tissue, according to a paper published in The Journal of Cell Biology.

19 Apr 2016

Study describes precise mechanisms that enable TB bacteria to persist in the body

Bacteria that cause tuberculosis trick immune cells meant to destroy them into hiding and feeding them instead. This is the result of a study led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center and published online April 18 in Nature Immunology.

19 Apr 2016

Cyclodextrin offers potential new therapy for cardiovascular disease

An American mother's hunch might result in new treatments for patients who can't tolerate conventional cholesterol-lowering drugs.

19 Apr 2016

Study points to novel way to treat diabetes in some patients

Blocking the hormone that raises sugar levels in the blood could increase insulin levels while keeping blood sugar levels down.

19 Apr 2016

Researchers identify biological pathway that explains why current asthma therapies fail in many cases

Asthma is an enormous public health problem that continues to grow larger, in part because scientists don't fully understand how it is caused. Existing therapies don't cure the disease and often don't even significantly alleviate the symptoms. Now, scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University have identified a biological pathway that potentially explains why current asthma therapies don't work well in many cases—and might be targeted to help those patients.

19 Apr 2016

Penn researchers report results of CAR therapy trial in brain cancer patients

Immune cells engineered to seek out and attack a type of deadly brain cancer known as glioblastoma (GBM) were found to have an acceptable safety profile and successfully migrate to and infiltrate tumors, researchers from Penn Medicine and Harvard University reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2016.

19 Apr 2016

Therapies based on alpha defensins could help treat rheumatoid arthritis

Arthritis and other inflammatory conditions could be helped by new insights into how the immune response is switched off.

19 Apr 2016

Oxidized mitochondrial nucleoids released from neutrophils may contribute to SLE pathogenesis

Researchers at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research have discovered that the neutrophils of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients release oxidized DNA from their mitochondria that can stimulate an unwanted immune response.

19 Apr 2016

NanoString launches new nCounter Vantage assays that power 3D Biology experiments in cancer research

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced the introduction of nCounter Vantage, a portfolio of assays that power 3D Biology™ experiments in cancer research, including immuno-oncology.

From NanoString Technologies 19 Apr 2016

Reducing hair loss during chemotherapy: an interview with Richard Paxman

The basic principle of chemotherapy is to damage the mitotic and metabolic processes in the cancer cells. The chemotherapy doesn't just target the cancer cells, it also targets the healthy cells, specifically ones that are rapidly dividing - our hair follicles are also rapidly dividing. We see damage to those hair cells, which then causes the hair to fall out.

From Paxman 19 Apr 2016

Researchers reveal how relatively unknown pathogen led to current Zika outbreak

An analysis comparing the individual differences between over 40 strains of Zika virus (30 isolated from humans, 10 from mosquitoes, and 1 from monkeys) has identified significant changes in both amino acid and nucleotide sequences during the past half-century.

18 Apr 2016

First-ever nivolumab drug trial for rare, malignant SCCA shows positive results

A rare malignancy known as squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is on the increase, and now researchers have reported results of the first-ever phase II clinical trial results for treatment with the immunotherapy drug nivolumab.

18 Apr 2016

Intestinal bacteria can be used to reduce cancer risk, reveals UCLA study

Researchers have shown that various types of intestinal bacteria might be factors in both causing and preventing obesity, and in other conditions and diseases. Now, a UCLA study suggests that it could also potentially be used to reduce the risk for some types of cancer.

16 Apr 2016

Scientists identify human protein that weakens immune response to HIV, other viruses

Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified a human (host) protein that weakens the immune response to HIV and other viruses. The findings, published today in Cell Host & Microbe, have important implications for improving HIV antiviral therapies, creating effective viral vaccines, and advance a new approach to treat cancer.

16 Apr 2016

MicroRNAs circulating in blood could lead to first diagnostic test for asthma

People with asthma have telltale molecules circulating in their blood, say researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. The discovery could lead to the first diagnostic blood test for asthma, as well as more targeted treatments for the condition.

16 Apr 2016

Genetic modification of common virus gives extra weapon to kill cancer cells

A common flu virus could be used to overcome patients' resistance to certain cancer drugs -- and improve how those drugs kill cancer cells, according to new research from Queen Mary University of London.

16 Apr 2016

Investigators find tacrolimus to be very effective in reducing ocular symptoms of GVHD

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have conducted a clinical trial comparing the safety and efficacy of topical tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive therapy, and topical methylprednisolone, a steroid medication, in patients with ocular graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) -- a complication associated with allogeneic bone marrow transplants in which the transplanted immune system's cells attack certain parts of the recipient's body, including the cornea and ocular surface.

16 Apr 2016

Immune System News and Research

Small piece of detoxified E. coli wall makes mice lose natural sweet tooth, study finds

Scientists identify underlying cause of immune suppression in people with high level spinal cord injuries

Researchers focus on novel target to treat bacterial infection

Removing immunomodulatory protein improves symptoms of muscular dystrophy in mice

Study describes precise mechanisms that enable TB bacteria to persist in the body

Cyclodextrin offers potential new therapy for cardiovascular disease

Study points to novel way to treat diabetes in some patients

Researchers identify biological pathway that explains why current asthma therapies fail in many cases

Penn researchers report results of CAR therapy trial in brain cancer patients

Therapies based on alpha defensins could help treat rheumatoid arthritis

Oxidized mitochondrial nucleoids released from neutrophils may contribute to SLE pathogenesis

NanoString launches new nCounter Vantage assays that power 3D Biology experiments in cancer research

Reducing hair loss during chemotherapy: an interview with Richard Paxman

Researchers reveal how relatively unknown pathogen led to current Zika outbreak

First-ever nivolumab drug trial for rare, malignant SCCA shows positive results

Intestinal bacteria can be used to reduce cancer risk, reveals UCLA study

Scientists identify human protein that weakens immune response to HIV, other viruses

MicroRNAs circulating in blood could lead to first diagnostic test for asthma

Genetic modification of common virus gives extra weapon to kill cancer cells

Investigators find tacrolimus to be very effective in reducing ocular symptoms of GVHD

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