Macrophage News and Research

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A macrophage is a type of white blood cell that surrounds and kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune system cells.

Some tumors use two levels of protection against immune system, shows study

In research published today, Babraham Institute researchers have shown that some tumors use not one but two levels of protection against the immune system.

8 Jun 2018

Researchers identify culprit that spurs damaging inflammation following heart attack

Scientists have zeroed in on a culprit that spurs damaging inflammation in the heart following a heart attack. The guilty party is a type of immune cell that tries to heal the injured heart but instead triggers inflammation that leads to even more damage.

8 Jun 2018

Study demonstrates that HIV infection in the brain can be established, maintained by T cells

A new study by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers has found that T cells, a type of white blood cell and an essential part of the immune system, are sufficient by themselves to establish and maintain an HIV infection in the brain.

6 Jun 2018

Study finds link between inflammatory signals in heart muscle cells and atrial fibrillation

Interfering with inflammatory signals produced by heart muscle cells might someday provide novel therapeutic strategies for atrial fibrillation, according to an international team of researchers who have published their findings in the journal Circulation.

5 Jun 2018

Scientists reveal role of lung scavenger cells in liver cancer spread to the lungs

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common form of liver cancer, and the third biggest cause of death from cancer worldwide.

4 Jun 2018

Researchers trigger natural defense mechanism to alleviate intestinal inflammation

Treating inflammatory diseases of the bowel is extremely challenging: Genes, gut microbes and disrupted immune function all contribute.

31 May 2018

NIH study unravels how tularemia bacteria trick host cells to cause disease

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases--part of the National Institutes of Health--have unraveled the process by which the bacteria cause disease.

31 May 2018

Researchers discover link between tuberculosis and Parkinson's disease

The mechanism our immune cells use to clear bacterial infections like tuberculosis (TB) might also be implicated in Parkinson's disease, according to a new collaborative study led by the Francis Crick Institute, Newcastle University and GSK.

22 May 2018

Neurological protein found to protect against inflammatory diseases

Researchers have identified a protein involved in the activation of macrophages that protects against inflammatory disorders such as sepsis and inflammatory bowel disease.

21 May 2018

Researchers report new signaling exchange that mediates normal mammary gland development

The human body develops most tissue types during fetal development, in a mother's uterus. Yet one only tissue develops after birth: the mammary gland.

18 May 2018

Study: Macrophages play key role in maintaining stem cell niche of mammary gland

A new study finds that one of the toughest characters in the immune system, the macrophage, has a nurturing side, at least when it comes to guarding the developing breast.

18 May 2018

Study provides insights into how immune cells kill bacteria with acid

The first line of immune defense against invading pathogens like bacteria are macrophages, immune cells that engulf every foreign object that crosses their way. After enclosing it in intracellular membrane vesicles, a process called phagocytosis, macrophages kill their prey with acid.

17 May 2018

New studies use proteomics to shed light on pathogenic mechanisms

Recent studies in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics have shed light on pathogenic mechanisms of the sexually-transmitted parasite Trichomonas vaginalis and the HIV-associated opportunistic lung fungus Aspergillus.

11 May 2018

Research findings could lead to new therapies to curb ovarian cancer metastasis

In order to spread their destruction, ovarian cancer cells must break free from their tumor home, travel through the fluid in the peritoneal cavity and attach to the outside of the abdominal organs--surfaces that are, by necessity, not sticky.

9 May 2018

Researchers uncover role of ROS in clearing dead cells

If dead cells accumulate in the body, they can contribute to inflammation and pre-dispose individuals to multiple chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, Crohn's disease or lupus by uncharacterized pathways.

7 May 2018

Key metabolites shed by gut bacteria can help protect from inflammation, study finds

Researchers at Tufts University have elucidated a mechanism by which the "good" bacteria that reside in our gastrointestinal tract can help protect us from inflammation, and how their disruption (dysbiosis) can increase the susceptibility of the liver to more harmful forms of disease.

4 May 2018

Novel PET tracer could provide early detection of rheumatoid arthritis

A novel PET tracer developed by Korean researchers can visualize joint inflammation and could provide early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, a common autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of joints and can lead to deformity and dysfunction.

3 May 2018

Mother's milk found to have SWAT team of immune cells

Immune cells that are ready to take action against invaders like bacteria have been found in women's breast milk, researchers say.

3 May 2018

Circulating immune cells found to worsen, rather than improve heart disease

New research led by investigators at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center suggests that the location of immune cells in the body determines whether they help or harm the development of heart disease.

3 May 2018

Improving the Diagnosis of Cardiac Sarcoidosis

Cardiac sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease of the heart that results in various clinical manifestations. Dr Nadera Sweiss discusses her research in the field of sarcoidosis and how diet can influence the diagnosis of the condition.

30 Apr 2018