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Wistar researchers find potential way for using STAT3 inhibitors to stop cancer progression

Imagine developing a drug designed to inhibit a protein that helps cancer cells proliferate and survive only to find that the drug does not perform very well in the clinic. This was the dilemma faced by scientists researching inhibitors of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3), a protein that controls transcription by the STAT3 gene.

17 Feb 2016

Small peptide TAxI holds promise for carrying biologic drugs into spinal cord

A small peptide dubbed TAxI is living up to its name. Recent studies show it to be an effective vehicle for shuttling functional proteins, such as active enzymes, into the spinal cord after a muscle injection.

17 Feb 2016

Study reveals another clue to workings of trachoma

Another clue to the workings of trachoma - the world's leading infectious cause of blindness - has been revealed in a new study published in BMC Infectious Diseases. Researchers identified markers of genetic regulation present in the early stages of infection that could predispose children to developing the condition in its long-term, severe form.

17 Feb 2016

WRAIR begins Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate MERS vaccine candidate

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research began vaccinations today in a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immune response of a vaccine candidate to prevent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

17 Feb 2016

Study highlights dual role of cytokine in inflammatory bowel disease

Small proteins that affect communication between cells play an important role in regulating inflammation that occurs during inflammatory bowel disease, according to researchers at Georgia State University, Emory University, the University of Michigan and Amgen, a biotechnology company.

17 Feb 2016

New vaccine strategy may curb addiction, prevent fatal overdoses

With use of synthetic opioid "designer drugs" on the rise, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have a new strategy to curb addiction and even prevent fatal overdoses.

17 Feb 2016

New UNC School of Medicine study shows how some bacteria can spread throughout the body

Bacteria have evolved thousands of clever tactics for invading our bodies while evading our natural defenses. Now, UNC School of Medicine scientists studying one of the world's most virulent pathogens and a separate very common bacterium have discovered a new way that some bacteria can spread rapidly throughout the body - by hitchhiking on our own immune cells.

16 Feb 2016

Vanderbilt nephrologist building implantable artificial kidney with microchip filters

Vanderbilt University Medical Center nephrologist and associate professor of medicine Dr. William H. Fissell IV, is making major progress on a first-of-its kind device to free kidney patients from dialysis. He is building an implantable artificial kidney with microchip filters and living kidney cells that will be powered by a patient's own heart.

16 Feb 2016

Co-parenting a child has bigger impact on the immune system than flu vaccine or gastroenteritis

Raising a child together has a greater effect on your immune system than the seasonal 'flu vaccine or travellers' gastroenteritis, a study by researchers at VIB and KU Leuven in Belgium and the Babraham Institute in the UK has found.

16 Feb 2016

Study: Delirium, muscle weakness and other neurological complications of sepsis poorly understood

Delirium, muscle weakness and other neurological complications of sepsis often are overlooked and poorly understood, according to a study published in the journal Current Neurology and Neurosciences Reports.

16 Feb 2016

NAU researcher calls for greater public awareness of cytomegalovirus

As the Zika virus continues to spread across the globe, and gain worldwide attention for its' potential birth defects, an NAU researcher is calling for greater public awareness of cytomegalovirus—the most common viral cause of birth defects in the United States.

16 Feb 2016

Researchers identify how Toxoplasma parasite crosses blood-brain barrier

An estimated 30 percent of the world's population is chronically infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Most people live with the infection without noticeable effect, but it can be life-threatening for people with suppressed immune systems, such as people on cancer therapies or who have HIV/AIDS.

16 Feb 2016

Scientists discover new subgroups of ILC immune cells using single-cell RNA sequencing

A relatively newly discovered group of immune cells known as ILCs have been examined in detail in a new study published in the journal Nature Immunology. By analysing the gene expression in individual tonsil cells, scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found three previously unknown subgroups of ILCs, and revealed more about how these cells function in the human body.

16 Feb 2016

Variations in Tie2 gene play significant role in patient responses to infections

Major infections such as influenza and bacterial sepsis kill millions of people each year, often resulting fro dangerous complications that impair the body's blood vessels. But the reasons why some patients experience these dramatic responses to infections -- and others don't -- have been unclear.

16 Feb 2016

St. Jude-led scientists explore better ways to use blood-forming stem cells for therapeutic interventions

A team of researchers led by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is looking at ways to improve how blood-forming stem cells can be used for therapeutic interventions. The work has uncovered a group of genes that regulate how hematopoietic stem cells start to grow and thrive in mice. The function of many of these genes was previously unknown. Reconstitution of a robust blood-forming system is essential for recovery from many catastrophic diseases as well as from chemotherapy treatments.

16 Feb 2016

TUM researchers make progress in bringing immunotherapy to fight against cancer, infectious diseases

The quest to bring immunotherapy into widespread clinical use against cancer and infectious diseases has made great strides in recent years.

15 Feb 2016

Most stage III melanoma patients do not benefit from interferon treatment

Final results for the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial, published online this month in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that thanks to current diagnostic techniques, most stage III melanoma patients do not benefit from treatment with interferon.

15 Feb 2016

Shift from huts to cities has dramatically changed human exposure to certain microbes

The shift from living in jungle huts to cities has dramatically changed human exposure to certain microbes, which could have implications for healthy immune function, according to a study led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center and published online Feb. 12, 2016 in Science Advances.

15 Feb 2016

Scientists modify plants' defense system to confer resistance to virus

Scientists at Indiana University have modified a plant gene that normally fights bacterial infection to confer resistance to a virus.

15 Feb 2016

New experimental method could help detect Lyme disease at the earliest time of infection

When it comes to early diagnosis of Lyme disease, the insidious tick-borne illness that afflicts about 300,000 Americans annually, finding the proverbial needle in the haystack might be a far easier challenge--until now, perhaps. An experimental method developed by federal and university researchers appears capable of detecting the stealthy culprit Lyme bacteria at the earliest time of infection, when currently available tests are often still negative.

15 Feb 2016

Immune System News and Research

Wistar researchers find potential way for using STAT3 inhibitors to stop cancer progression

Small peptide TAxI holds promise for carrying biologic drugs into spinal cord

Study reveals another clue to workings of trachoma

WRAIR begins Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate MERS vaccine candidate

Study highlights dual role of cytokine in inflammatory bowel disease

New vaccine strategy may curb addiction, prevent fatal overdoses

New UNC School of Medicine study shows how some bacteria can spread throughout the body

Vanderbilt nephrologist building implantable artificial kidney with microchip filters

Co-parenting a child has bigger impact on the immune system than flu vaccine or gastroenteritis

Study: Delirium, muscle weakness and other neurological complications of sepsis poorly understood

NAU researcher calls for greater public awareness of cytomegalovirus

Researchers identify how Toxoplasma parasite crosses blood-brain barrier

Scientists discover new subgroups of ILC immune cells using single-cell RNA sequencing

Variations in Tie2 gene play significant role in patient responses to infections

St. Jude-led scientists explore better ways to use blood-forming stem cells for therapeutic interventions

TUM researchers make progress in bringing immunotherapy to fight against cancer, infectious diseases

Most stage III melanoma patients do not benefit from interferon treatment

Shift from huts to cities has dramatically changed human exposure to certain microbes

Scientists modify plants' defense system to confer resistance to virus

New experimental method could help detect Lyme disease at the earliest time of infection

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