Immune System News and Research

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Research team receives grant to study impact of urban air pollution on TB immunity

An international team of researchers, led by Stephan Schwander, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Global Public Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public Health, has received a $2.96 million grant to conduct a "real-world" study on the impact of urban air pollution on the human immune system's ability to resist Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

29 Oct 2012

Allergies and hygiene: an interview with Sally Bloomfield

Allergies occur when the body overreacts to substances in our environment, such as pollen, dust mites and so forth. What happens is that when we are exposed to these potential threats, the immune system should react, deal with it, and then shut down.

26 Oct 2012

mTor molecule plays a significant role in myeloid differentiation

University of Illinois cell and developmental Biology professor Fei Wang and colleagues have created a new technique to study how myeloids, a type of blood stem cell, become the white blood cells important for immune system defense against infections and tissue damage.

26 Oct 2012

CUMC researchers develop first true mouse model of typhoid infection

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created the first true mouse model of typhoid infection. The development promises to advance the study of typhoid and the creation of new vaccines against the infection, which remains a major health threat in developing countries.

26 Oct 2012

Guidelines to help protect vulnerable populations from flu

While it is important to get vaccinated against the flu virus as early as possible, it is never too late to reap the benefits of this vaccine. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the peak months for the spread of the flu virus are January and February and the season can last into mid-May.

26 Oct 2012

New findings on how OX40 activation affects T helper cells that target melanoma

Cancers arise in the body all the time. Most are nipped in the bud by the immune response, not least by its T cells, which detect telltale molecular markers-or antigens-on cancer cells and destroy them before they grow into tumors. Cancer cells, for their part, evolve constantly to evade such assassination. Those that succeed become full-blown malignancies. Yet, given the right sort of help, the immune system can destroy even these entrenched tumors.

25 Oct 2012

12-chemokine gene signature can predict presence of lymph node-like structures in MM

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered a unique immune gene signature that can predict the presence of microscopic lymph node-like structures in metastatic melanoma. The presence of these immune structures, the researchers said, appears to be associated with better survival and may indicate the possibility of selecting patients for immunotherapy based solely on the immune-related makeup of their tumors as an approach to personalized medicine.

25 Oct 2012

New method of oral vaccination could help boost immunity to TB, influenza and C. difficile

Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London have developed a pioneering new method of oral vaccination which could help boost immunity to TB and influenza, as well as prevent C. difficile for which there is currently no vaccine.

25 Oct 2012

Probiotic supplementation improves health-related quality of life during common cold

College students are notoriously sleep-deprived, live in close quarters and lead stress-filled lives, making them especially susceptible for contracting colds and upper-respiratory infections. For these reasons, a team lead by researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Health Related Professions (UMDNJ-SHRP) selected this population to study the effects of probiotic supplementation on health-related quality of life (HRQL) during the common cold.

24 Oct 2012

Study looks at DNA sequences for receptors in T lymphocytes

Our immune system must be tremendously complex to respond to the unending assault of viruses, bacteria and cancerous cells. One of the mechanisms used by the immune system to cope with the huge variety of possible threats is to randomly combine DNA segments for the production of receptors on lymphocytes - a type of white blood cell.

23 Oct 2012

Blood-circulating monocytes can replace brain resident microglia

The immune system is comprised of multiple cell types each capable of specialized functions to protect the body from invading pathogens and promote tissue repair after injury. One cell type, known as monocytes, circulates throughout the organism in the blood and enters tissues to actively phagocytose (eat!) foreign cells and assist in tissue healing.

23 Oct 2012

Researchers discover how HIV-infected people develop very powerful antibody responses

Wits researchers have played a pivotal role in an AIDS study published today in the journal, Nature Medicine, which describes how a unique change in the outer covering of the virus found in two HIV infected South African women enabled them to make potent antibodies which are able to kill up to 88% of HIV types from around the world.

23 Oct 2012

Bodyguard macrophages protect stem cells from over-differentiation

Hiding deep inside the bone marrow are special cells. They wait patiently for the hour of need, at which point these blood forming stem cells can proliferate and differentiate into billions of mature blood immune cells to help the body cope with infection, for example, or extra red blood cells for low oxygen levels at high altitudes. Even in emergencies, however, the body keeps to a long-term plan: It maintains a reserve of undifferentiated stem cells for future needs and crises.

23 Oct 2012

Possible overlap exists between inflammatory bowel disease and IBS

Research unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas suggests a possible overlap of symptoms of two prevalent GI disorders: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and further suggests a possible link between subtle GI tract inflammation and IBS symptoms-a link that is also the focus of the first systemic review of the literature on this topic and an editorial both published in this month's American Journal of Gastroenterology.

23 Oct 2012

Interim results from CEL-SCI's Multikine Phase III study on head and neck cancer

CEL-SCI Corporation announced today that an interim review of the safety data from its open label, randomized, controlled, pivotal Phase III study of Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection) investigational immunotherapy by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) raised no safety concerns.

23 Oct 2012

Sanofi presents overview of Phase II and III trials for quadrivalent influenza vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, presented today an overview of Phase II and Phase III clinical trials for its investigational quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV).

23 Oct 2012

Researchers continue hunt for AIDS vaccine

"Finding a safe, effective AIDS vaccine has, thus far, proved elusive even after some $8 billion invested from 2001-2011 into vaccine research and development," PlusNews reports in an article examining ongoing HIV vaccine research efforts. "Scientists point to HIV's Houdini-like ability to escape immune system attack, and less-than-strategic use of funds over the past decade, as reasons for the continued hunt," the news service writes.

22 Oct 2012

PLoS ONE publishes review of AntiViral-HyperActivation Limiting Therapeutics clinical trial

ViroStatics, a private Italian/American biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for viral and other chronic diseases, announced that a review of the first human clinical trial to test a new class of anti-HIV medications known as AntiViral-HyperActivation Limiting Therapeutics (AV-HALTs) has been published in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.

22 Oct 2012

VEGF produced by NPCs plays a strong role in influencing microglial behavior

The brain's key "breeder" cells, it turns out, do more than that. They secrete substances that boost the numbers and strength of critical brain-based immune cells believed to play a vital role in brain health. This finding adds a new dimension to our understanding of how resident stem cells and stem cell transplants may improve brain function.

22 Oct 2012

Fungal exposure in homes could increase risk of sarcoidosis

People who are exposed to mold in their homes could be at an increased risk for sarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory lung disease. Researchers from Sweden and Slovenia tested 62 nonsmoking patients with sarcoidosis, 34 of whom had extrapulmonary manifestations (EPM).

22 Oct 2012

Immune System News and Research

Research team receives grant to study impact of urban air pollution on TB immunity

Allergies and hygiene: an interview with Sally Bloomfield

mTor molecule plays a significant role in myeloid differentiation

CUMC researchers develop first true mouse model of typhoid infection

Guidelines to help protect vulnerable populations from flu

New findings on how OX40 activation affects T helper cells that target melanoma

12-chemokine gene signature can predict presence of lymph node-like structures in MM

New method of oral vaccination could help boost immunity to TB, influenza and C. difficile

Probiotic supplementation improves health-related quality of life during common cold

Study looks at DNA sequences for receptors in T lymphocytes

Blood-circulating monocytes can replace brain resident microglia

Researchers discover how HIV-infected people develop very powerful antibody responses

Bodyguard macrophages protect stem cells from over-differentiation

Possible overlap exists between inflammatory bowel disease and IBS

Interim results from CEL-SCI's Multikine Phase III study on head and neck cancer

Sanofi presents overview of Phase II and III trials for quadrivalent influenza vaccine

Researchers continue hunt for AIDS vaccine

PLoS ONE publishes review of AntiViral-HyperActivation Limiting Therapeutics clinical trial

VEGF produced by NPCs plays a strong role in influencing microglial behavior

Fungal exposure in homes could increase risk of sarcoidosis

Understanding the DNA Damage Response in Innate Immunity 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

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