Natural Killer Cells News and Research

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Researchers identify potential anti-viral strategy for SARS-CoV-2 virus

In the case of an infection, the SARS-CoV-2 virus must overcome various defense mechanisms of the human body, including its non-specific or innate immune defense. During this process, infected body cells release messenger substances known as type 1 interferons. These attract natural killer cells, which kill the infected cells.

29 Jul 2020

Combining two immunotherapies into a single treatment found to be more effective

Some of the most promising advances in cancer treatment have centered on immunotherapies that rev up a patient's immune system to attack cancer. But immunotherapies don't work in all patients, and researchers have been searching for ways to increase their effectiveness.

23 Jul 2020

Hollings Cancer Center researcher receives NCI grants for cancer immunotherapy studies

Hollings Cancer Center researcher Jessica Thaxton, Ph.D., is the recipient of two grants totaling $3.4 million from the National Cancer Institute for her work in cancer immunotherapy and cell stress, one of which is part of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative on immunometabolism.

23 Jul 2020

A multi-omics single cell analysis on COVID-19

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv aims to analyze the immune response over time, using multi-omics in the study of a single cell.

21 Jul 2020

Altimmune announces positive preclinical results of intranasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Altimmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has announced positive results from the preclinical studies conducted in mice at the University of Alabama at Birmingham of its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AdCOVID.

13 Jul 2020

Promising new approach uses natural killer cells to treat glioblastomas

Glioblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in adults. Treatment options are extremely limited and usually not effective, leading to death for most patients within 12-18 months of diagnosis.

9 Jul 2020

Breast cancer cells can reprogram natural killer cells to aid in metastasis

Natural killer cells, a type of immune cell, are known to limit metastasis by inducing the death of cancer cells. But metastases still form in patients, so there must be ways for cancer cells to escape.

9 Jul 2020

Scientists engineer natural killer cells that target tumors and their immunosuppressive allies

Scientists have engineered natural killer immune cells that not only kill head and neck tumor cells in mice but also reduce the immune-suppressing myeloid cells that allow tumors to evade the immune response, according to a new study in eLife.

7 Jul 2020

Aspirin and flavonoids in fruits and vegetables could help prevent colorectal cancer

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and a daily dose of aspirin have one thing in common-;both can help prevent colorectal cancer. Yet scientists have struggled for decades to find the source of their ability to inhibit cancer cell growth.

7 Jul 2020

Immune response variations across the COVID-19 spectrum

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 describes differences in the adaptive and innate immune response in mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. This may mean that permanent immune responses occur only in patients who recover from severe COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Engineered natural killer cells show promise for treating a form of leukemia

Using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and deleting a key gene, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have created natural killer cells -; a type of immune cell -; with measurably stronger activity against a form of leukemia, both in vivo and in vitro.

12 Jun 2020

Harnessing the formation of natural killer–tumor cell immunological synapse to treat solid cancers

There are immune cells in our bodies that directly destroy infected or cancer cells - they are called natural killer cells. Recently, a POSTECH research team has developed an integrative cancer therapy using adoptive natural killer cell therapy and chemotherapy.

13 May 2020

Scientists discover a new way for T cells to attack diseased cells

Scientists at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences have discovered a new way for T cells to attack cells infected by viruses or deranged by cancer.

12 May 2020

Uncovering immune cell reactions in COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 suggests that an overactive immune response is responsible for the more severe manifestations of the illness.

4 May 2020

UK-based biotechnology firm discovers potential treatments for Covid-19

A UK-based biotechnology firm has announced the discovery of two separate novel treatments for Covid-19 patients before they are put on ventilators. They are now urgently seeking funding of £4m to accelerate safety studies and clinical trials.

30 Apr 2020

Using 'young NK cells' could improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy for cancer patients

Immunotherapy that involves treating cancer with the body's own immune cells, or those of a matched donor, shows promise in clinical trials for some patients, but not all.

22 Mar 2020

'Natural killer' cells could help stop progression of Parkinson's disease

Researchers at the University of Georgia's Regenerative Bioscience Center and their colleagues have found that "natural killer" white blood cells could guard against the cascade of cellular changes that lead to Parkinson's disease and help stop its progression.

16 Mar 2020

Boosting immune cells to treat eczema

A new drug regimen is reported to have marked benefits in treating the troublesome and distressing skin condition called eczema. The study, published in February 2020 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, shows that boosting the levels of a type of immune cell called natural killer cells can be a more effective way to treat eczema in a mouse study.

27 Feb 2020

New clinical trial uses universal natural killer cell approach to treat acute myeloid leukemia

A new, phase I clinical trial offered The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute will treat patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia using a novel universal natural killer cell approach.