Immune System News and Research

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New method for in vivo study of unknown selenium metabolism

Spanish and Danish researchers have developed a method for the in vivo study of the unknown metabolism of selenium, an essential element for living beings. The technique can help clarify whether or not it possesses the anti-tumour properties that have been attributed to it and yet have not been verified through clinical trials.

22 Mar 2012

Advances in Neuroimmune Biology explores maternal-fetal interactions

Fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages, and pregnancy complications can occur when maternal immunological tolerance of the fetus is impaired. G-rard Chaouat and colleagues from Inserm et Assistance Publique et Universit- Paris Sud Orsay, Hopital Antoine B-cl-re, Clamart Cedex, France, trace the evolution of the science of reproductive immunology to show how the current understanding of maternal-fetal tolerance/dialogue has developed, and its implications for the treatment of infertility disorders

22 Mar 2012

Study finds higher death rate in calorie-restricted models of IBD

In a surprising result, Michigan State University researchers looking at the effects of diet on bowel disease found that mice on a calorie-restricted diet were more likely to die after being infected with an inflammation-causing bacterial pathogen in the colon.

21 Mar 2012

Cannabinoid drugs can directly inhibit HIV in late-stage AIDS

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS, according to new findings published online in the journal PLoS ONE.

21 Mar 2012

Bone-marrow derived MSCs may reduce acute rejection rates in kidney recipients

Among patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing living-related kidney transplants, the use of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal (cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types) stem cells instead of antibody induction therapy resulted in a lower incidence of acute rejection, decreased risk of opportunistic infection, and better estimated kidney function at 1 year, according to a study in the March 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Mar 2012

Study shows how to defeat chemotherapy barrier in pancreatic cancer

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have discovered a literal 'break through' in pancreatic cancer.

21 Mar 2012

Transforming biomedical research to develop TB vaccines

In the past decade, scientists have made significant progress building the critical knowledge and infrastructure needed to identify and develop novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidates and move the most promising ones into human clinical trials. The results of those trials, coupled with advances from other TB studies, have paved the way for the next 10 years of research on TB vaccines, a critical component of TB control efforts, note scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

21 Mar 2012

Issues and treatments of chronic skin wounds

The skin is the body's largest organ and an indispensable part of the immune system. As the body's outermost line of defense against microbes, the skin provides important protection against potentially toxic environmental elements. One subset of immune cells, thymus-derived T-cells play an important role in the skin's response to injury, particularly with respect to wound healing.

21 Mar 2012

BPA alters uterus structure leading to potentially fatal infection

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found evidence that, in addition to affecting the heart, brain and nervous system, bisphenol A (BPA), could affect a mammal's ability to reproduce by altering the structure of the uterus in ways that can progress to a potentially fatal infection.

21 Mar 2012

New perspective on why the immune system makes us worse while trying to make us well

A new article in The Quarterly Review of Biology helps explain why the immune system often makes us worse while trying to make us well.

21 Mar 2012

NCCN issues first ever clinical practice guidelines for ALL

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has issued its first ever NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

21 Mar 2012

ISCO fourth quarter revenue increases 110% to $1.1 million

International Stem Cell Corporation today announced year-end financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011.

21 Mar 2012

Mayo Clinic researchers train mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within

Mayo Clinic researchers have trained mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within, using a genetic combination of human DNA from melanoma cells and a cousin of the rabies virus. The strategy, called cancer immunotherapy, uses a genetically engineered version of the vesicular stomatitis virus to deliver a broad spectrum of genes derived from melanoma cancer cells directly into tumors.

20 Mar 2012

FHCRC research represents potential breakthrough in treatment of pancreas cancer

Pancreas cancer tumors spread quickly and are notoriously resistant to treatment, making them among the deadliest of malignancies. Their resistance to chemotherapy stems in part from a unique biological barrier the tumor builds around itself. Now scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found a way to break through that defense, and their research represents a potential breakthrough in the treatment of pancreas cancer.

20 Mar 2012

Study identifies new hypervariable regions in human gut viruses

A growing body of evidence underscores the importance of human gut bacteria in modulating human health, metabolism, and disease. Yet bacteria are only part of the story. Viruses that infect those bacteria also shape who we are. Frederic D. Bushman, PhD, professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, led a study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that sequenced the DNA of viruses -- the virome -- present in the gut of healthy people.

20 Mar 2012

New information on efficacy of CLA in treating Crohn's disease

The Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) research team at Virginia Tech has discovered important new information on the efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in treating Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CLA is a naturally occurring acid found in meat and dairy products known for its anti-cancer and immune modulatory properties.

20 Mar 2012

Single dose of X-ray radiation can prevent glaucoma

Jackson Laboratory researchers have demonstrated that a single, targeted x-ray treatment of an individual eye in young, glaucoma-prone mice provided that eye with apparently life-long and typically complete protection from glaucoma.

20 Mar 2012

Disruptions in immune system regulation may play a role in NEC

Despite advances in neonatal care, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) - the most common gastrointestinal emergency in premature infants - continues to be a deadly disease. "We haven't made a lot of progress in identifying babies early who may be at risk for NEC, preventing it or treating it," said J-rn-Hendrik Weitkamp, M.D., a neonatologist and assistant professor of Pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

20 Mar 2012

Researchers identify Wnt pathway as new target for scleroderma therapy

A genetic pathway previously known for its role in embryonic development and cancer has been identified as a target for systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma, therapy.

20 Mar 2012

Researchers show how errant form of LYP can disrupt the immune system

Autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, are caused by an immune system gone haywire, where the body's defense system assaults and destroys healthy tissues. A mutant form of a protein called LYP has been implicated in multiple autoimmune diseases, but the precise molecular pathway involved has been unknown.

19 Mar 2012