Immune System News and Research

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New photoactive compound eradicates 'Iraqibacter' from wounds and skin infections

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have developed a novel approach for eradicating drug-resistant bacteria from wounds and skin infections, using light to trigger the controlled release of nitric oxide. The UCSC team developed a photoactive compound that releases nitric oxide when exposed to light, and loaded it into a porous, biocompatible material that could be applied as a sprayable powder.

31 May 2012

Skin transplant surgery safe and effective for patients with vitligo

Henry Ford Hospital dermatologists say skin transplant surgery is safe and effective for restoring skin pigmentation caused by the skin disease vitligo.

31 May 2012

UCLA research projects aim to improve lives of children with serious illnesses

New hope for deadly pediatric brain tumors; opening the door to improved diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in children; and advanced genetic testing to better understand the causes of autism and cancer in kids. These research projects are currently underway at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA under the umbrella of the UCLA Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute (CDI), and aim to dramatically improve the lives of children with serious illnesses.

31 May 2012

UCSB creates synthetic platelets for various biomedical applications

Synthetic platelets have been developed by UC Santa Barbara researchers, in collaboration with researchers at Scripps Research Institute and Sanford-Burnham Institute in La Jolla, Calif. Their findings are published in the journal Advanced Materials in a paper titled "Platelet Mimetic Particles for Targeting Thrombi in Flowing Blood."

31 May 2012

No evidence of chronic low-grade inflammation linked with diseases of aging

American parents may want to think again about how much they want to protect their children from everyday germs. A new Northwestern University study done in lowland Ecuador remarkably finds no evidence of chronic low-grade inflammation -- associated with diseases of aging like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia.

31 May 2012

Study examines how SMIP-016 drug kills CLL cells

A new study has identified a life-and-death signaling role for a molecule on the surface of the immune cells involved in the most common form of chronic leukemia. The finding could lead to more effective therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), an as yet incurable cancer that occurs in more than 16,000 Americans annually.

31 May 2012

Wellmune minimizes risk of URTI among marathoners

Marathoners taking Wellmune WGP, a natural immune health ingredient, for four weeks experienced an average reduction of 40% in upper respiratory tract infection symptomatic days that commonly afflict long-distance runners, according to new clinical study results presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine 59th annual meeting.

31 May 2012

TAU researcher develops new antibodies to target and destroy cancer cells

Because cancer cells grow very quickly, chemotherapy is designed to target cells whose numbers grow rapidly. But this treatment comes with a heavy price - many healthy cells essential for body functions are also targeted and killed by the toxin. This dangerous side-effect has prompted researchers to seek better and more selective ways to kill cancer cells inside the body.

31 May 2012

Omixon Target, a next generation sequencing analysis software for targeted sequencing, released by Omixon

Today Omixon – a genomic software company - announced the commercial release of Omixon Target, a next generation sequencing analysis software for targeted sequencing. Omixon built its new software Target with the vision of helping diagnostic labs to adopt next generation sequencing to replace and complement traditional capillary Sanger sequencing.

30 May 2012

Researchers identify mechanism key in drug allergy

Adverse drug reactions are a major issue that cause harm, are costly and restrict treatment options for patients and the development of new drugs. A groundbreaking finding by researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology could lead to a new way to dramatically improve drug safety by identifying drugs at risk to cause potentially fatal genetic-linked hypersensitivity reactions before their use in man.

30 May 2012

CytRx INNO-206 doxorubicin conjugate shows anti-multiple myeloma effects

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced that in animal and in vitro studies, its tumor-targeting doxorubicin conjugate INNO-206 showed anti-multiple myeloma effects and enhanced the anti-tumor effects of bortezomib, which is approved for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma.

30 May 2012

Scientists solve 50-year mystery behind cholera

For 50 years scientists have been unsure how the bacteria that gives humans cholera manages to resist one of our basic innate immune responses. That mystery has now been solved, thanks to research from biologists at The University of Texas at Austin.

30 May 2012

Bristol-Myers Squibb forms International Immuno-Oncology Network

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced the formation of the International Immuno-Oncology Network (II-ON), a global collaboration between industry and academia that aims to further the scientific understanding of immuno-oncology. Immuno-oncology focuses on the potential of harnessing the intelligence of the body's own immune system to fight cancer.

30 May 2012

Patients with history of skin infection more likely to develop surgical site infections

Johns Hopkins scientists have engineered cells that behave like AND and OR Boolean logic gates, producing an output based on one or more unique inputs. This feat, published in the May issue of Nature Chemical Biology, could eventually help researchers create computers that use cells as tiny circuits.

30 May 2012

Use of transplanted induced pluripotent stem cells could lead to new treatments for HD

Researchers from South Korea, Sweden, and the United States have collaborated on a project to restore neuron function to parts of the brain damaged by Huntington's disease (HD) by successfully transplanting HD-induced pluripotent stem cells into animal models.

30 May 2012

CHOC Children's research project receives $5.5M CIRM grant

A CHOC Children's research project, under the direction of Philip H. Schwartz, Ph.D., senior scientist at the CHOC Children's Research Institute and managing director of the facility's National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource, has been awarded a $5.5 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

30 May 2012

DFG to establish 20 CRCs by 1 July 2012

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is to establish 20 Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) by 1 July 2012. This decision was taken by the Grants Committee at its spring session in Bonn. The new CRCs will receive funding totalling 176 million euros (including a 20 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs) for the initial 4-year funding period.

30 May 2012

ASCs promising source of cells for use in plastic surgery and regenerative medicine

Adipose stem cells (ASCs)—stem cells derived from fat—are a promising source of cells for use in plastic surgery and regenerative medicine, according to a special review in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

30 May 2012

MD Bioproducts launches new subtype specific antibody as marker for AS

MD Bioproducts launches a new subtype specific antibody as a marker for ankylosing spondylitis (AS): HLA-B*2705. The anti-HLA-B*2705 antibody, clone MARB4, has been validated for use in flow cytometry, tissue staining and immunoprecipitation.

30 May 2012

Researchers discover new HIV-suppressing protein

Scientists have identified a new HIV-suppressing protein in the blood of people infected with the virus. In laboratory studies, the protein, called CXCL4 or PF-4, binds to HIV such that it cannot attach to or enter a human cell.

30 May 2012