Immune System News and Research

RSS

Scientists find that lipocalin 2 protein disables macrophages in bacterial pneumonia

Macrophages, also known as scavenger cells, play an important role in defending against bacteria and pathogens by activating inflammatory processes. In cases of lung inflammation (pneumonia) caused by pneumococcal bacteria, this important immune response function is hampered and blocked by the protein lipocalin 2.

22 Jul 2013

Implications for treating some common food allergies

Food is an integral part of life; but, for some, it can be harmful. Allergic inflammation caused by inappropriate immune responses to some types of food has become a major public health issue. Over the past ten years, the prevalence of food allergies has increased by nearly 20 percent, affecting an estimated six million people in the U.S.

22 Jul 2013

Monash University researchers provide novel pathways to develop treatments for diseases

Monash University researchers have gained new insight into the early stages of our immune response, providing novel pathways to develop treatments for diseases from multiple sclerosis to cancer.

22 Jul 2013

Study sheds light on how cells regenerate protective sheaths around nerve fibres in the brain

Multiple sclerosis treatments that repair damage to the brain could be developed thanks to new research.

22 Jul 2013

Structural properties have changed across bacterial families without putting limits on antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been emerging at an alarming rate. In some of the scariest of these pathogens, the mechanism responsible for the bacteria's ability to defeat antibiotics is a complex protein molecule embedded in the bacterial cell wall -- the enzyme β-lactamase.

20 Jul 2013

Researchers discover new functions for PTPN22 gene linked with autoimmune disease

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified infection-fighting and inflammation-suppressing functions for a gene associated with human autoimmune disease.

20 Jul 2013

Researchers uncover evidence that genetic changes play role in resistance to deadly disease

Researchers have long understood that genetics can play a role in how susceptible people are to contracting cholera, but a team of Harvard scientists is now uncovering evidence of genetic changes that might also help protect some people from contracting the deadly disease.

20 Jul 2013

Mirror Effect of Immunovative Therapies: A new approach to cancer treatment

Dr. Michael Har-Noy, founder and CEO of Immunovative Therapies Ltd, a biotech company in Israel, describes a new and unique approach to cancer treatment.

20 Jul 2013

American Crystallographic Association analysis may help researchers design vaccine against HIV/AIDS

Designing an effective HIV/AIDS vaccine is something of a paradox: a good vaccine would be safe and look enough like HIV to kick-start the immune system into neutralizing the virus - but the problem is that this is exactly what the human immune system has trouble doing even when it's exposed to the real thing.

19 Jul 2013

NCI awards $1.5M grant to LSUHSC researcher to study role of chronic inflammation in cancer

Yan Cui, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, & Parasitology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and the LSUHSC Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has been awarded a $1.5 million grant over five years by the National Cancer Institute to study the role of chronic inflammation in the development and progression of cancer.

19 Jul 2013

Scientists discover molecular switch that determines death or survival of cell

The study is the result of a collaboration of scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, University of Michigan, and University of California San Diego, USA, who were interested in finding out whether autophagy can be affected by events in the cell nucleus. Surprisingly, they discovered that a signal chain in the nucleus serves as a kind of molecular switch that determines whether the cell dies or survives.

19 Jul 2013

Kansas researchers defeat persistent bacteria known for causing infections in hospitals

Kansas State University researchers are defeating persistent bacteria known for causing infections in hospitals.

19 Jul 2013

Inovio's electroporation technology enhances ability of DNA therapy to stimulate blood vessel growth

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the use of its proprietary electroporation technology significantly enhanced the ability of a DNA therapy to stimulate blood vessel growth, which may be beneficial for the treatment of critical limb ischemia and other forms of peripheral arterial disease.

18 Jul 2013

Human filariasis research: an interview with Professor Mark Taylor, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Filariasis refers to a group of diseases caused by parasitic worms, which are transmitted by blood feeding insects. Two species infect the lymphatic and blood systems causing lymphatic filariasis, which in some people can lead to gross swelling of the limbs and 'elephantiasis'.

18 Jul 2013

CHOP-led research increases numbers of patients who could be treated with gene therapy

Gene therapy researchers have produced a bioengineered decoy that fools the immune system and prevents it from mistakenly defeating the benefits delivered by a corrective gene.

18 Jul 2013

Discovery provides evidence that genetic defect responsible for Down syndrome can be suppressed

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School are the first to establish that a naturally occurring X chromosome "off switch" can be rerouted to neutralize the extra chromosome responsible for trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by cognitive impairment.

18 Jul 2013

Both milky spots and fat cells in omentum promote ovarian cancer metastases

Cancer researchers have wondered why ovarian cancer cells are so attracted to the abdominal cavity, especially the omentum, with the hope that such an understanding could lead to better disease management or even prevention.

18 Jul 2013

Virginia Commonwealth University receives $1.8M grant to study biology of allergic disease

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Virginia Commonwealth University a grant totaling $1.8 million to study the biology of allergic disease - work which may one day point researchers to the development of therapies to fight asthma, allergy and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and heart disease.

18 Jul 2013

Innovative manufacturing technologies increase demand for gluten-free foods

New technologies and ingredients are improving the taste, appearance and nutritional content of gluten-free food products, a market that is expected to grow to $6 billion by 2017, according to a presentation today at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo- in Chicago.

18 Jul 2013

Poor sleep during pregnancy can disrupt immune processes and lead to lower birth weights

Poor sleep quality and quantity during pregnancy can disrupt normal immune processes and lead to lower birth weights and other complications, finds a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published today in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Women with depression also are more likely than non-depressed women to suffer from disturbed sleep and to experience immune system disruption and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

18 Jul 2013

Immune System News and Research

Scientists find that lipocalin 2 protein disables macrophages in bacterial pneumonia

Implications for treating some common food allergies

Monash University researchers provide novel pathways to develop treatments for diseases

Study sheds light on how cells regenerate protective sheaths around nerve fibres in the brain

Structural properties have changed across bacterial families without putting limits on antibiotic resistance

Researchers discover new functions for PTPN22 gene linked with autoimmune disease

Researchers uncover evidence that genetic changes play role in resistance to deadly disease

Mirror Effect of Immunovative Therapies: A new approach to cancer treatment

American Crystallographic Association analysis may help researchers design vaccine against HIV/AIDS

NCI awards $1.5M grant to LSUHSC researcher to study role of chronic inflammation in cancer

Scientists discover molecular switch that determines death or survival of cell

Kansas researchers defeat persistent bacteria known for causing infections in hospitals

Inovio's electroporation technology enhances ability of DNA therapy to stimulate blood vessel growth

Human filariasis research: an interview with Professor Mark Taylor, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

CHOP-led research increases numbers of patients who could be treated with gene therapy

Discovery provides evidence that genetic defect responsible for Down syndrome can be suppressed

Both milky spots and fat cells in omentum promote ovarian cancer metastases

Virginia Commonwealth University receives $1.8M grant to study biology of allergic disease

Innovative manufacturing technologies increase demand for gluten-free foods

Poor sleep during pregnancy can disrupt immune processes and lead to lower birth weights

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

Latest News