Interferons News and Research

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Study identifies immune response causing severe COVID-19 susceptibility

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has largely subsided, scientists continue to investigate why the virus proved so deadly, causing at least three million deaths worldwide, according to the latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO).

19 Jul 2026

Review highlights traditional Chinese medicine for Chikungunya fever management

Chikungunya fever, caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), has re‑emerged as a major global health threat. The 2025 outbreak in Guangdong, China – the largest local epidemic ever recorded – marks a critical epidemiological turning point.

9 Jul 2026

Study offers insight into how long-term inflammation may contribute to cognitive decline

The King's College London study, published in Nature Communications, offers insight into how long-term inflammation may contribute to cognitive decline in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, aging, depression, and the lingering neurological effects of viral infections.

7 Jul 2026

Study explains how leukemia creates inflammatory lung environments

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) does more than infiltrate the lungs: it also transforms lung tissue to create an inflammatory environment that promotes the expansion of tumor cells and impairs respiratory function.

30 Jun 2026

Scientists map genetic changes controlling the immune sensor STING

The immune system depends on molecular alarms that detect danger inside cells. One of these alarms is STING, short for "stimulator of interferon genes".

24 Jun 2026

Study identifies protein essential for repairing damage after inflammation

Whenever there is a wound or infection, the body produces an inflammatory response. This is the body's first line of defense, and macrophages — cells of the innate immune system — play a key role: first, they help eliminate pathogens and other infectious agents, and then they trigger the mechanisms that repair the damage caused during the inflammatory process.

28 Apr 2026

Influenza D shows strong potential to spill over to humans

The influenza D virus that researchers say has been flying under the radar since its detection in animals in 2011 can vigorously make copies of itself in human cells and lung tissue samples, a new study shows.

24 Apr 2026

A single sauna session boosts immune cells within minutes

New research shows Finnish sauna sessions rapidly mobilize immune cells, revealing heat stress effects on cytokines and potential health benefits.

17 Apr 2026

Blood pressure drug boosts effectiveness of cancer therapy

In a new Dartmouth Cancer Center (DCC) study led by clinical researcher Tyler J. Curiel, MD, MPH, FACP, investigators found that the FDA-approved blood pressure drug telmisartan can significantly enhance the cancer-killing activity of the targeted therapy olaparib, potentially expanding its use to many more patients.

25 Mar 2026

Scientists identify ANKIB1 as key regulator of innate immune signaling

Innate immune sensors – known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) – detect specific molecular components of bacterial or viral intruders.

6 Mar 2026

RSV and COVID-19 trigger different immune responses in infants

Young infants hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) often become much sicker compared to those infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

25 Feb 2026

Interferon response key to fighting rhinovirus infections in nasal passages

When a rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, infects the lining of our nasal passages, our cells work together to fight the virus by triggering an arsenal of antiviral defenses.

19 Jan 2026

Immune dysfunction persists after combined TB and HIV therapy

The immune system remains seriously out-of-whack – in an inflammatory state of overactivation and impaired functionality – following the international gold standard for treating people with latent tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, a team at Texas Biomedical Research Institute reports in Nature Communications.

14 Jan 2026

Researchers explore why Alzheimer's affects men and women differently

More than seven million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and two-thirds of them are women, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The O'Banion Lab at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester has long been studying this disease and is looking more closely at the differences between male and female brains.

30 Dec 2025

New study links inherited mitochondrial DNA mutation to disrupted immune balance

Scientists have discovered how a mitochondrial mutation rewires immune function in a model of inherited primary mitochondrial disorders, which often lead to severe disability and death.

26 Nov 2025

Study overturns assumptions about PTPN22 risk gene’s role in interferon production

A new paper from the University of Kansas overturns the idea that a "risk gene" carried by millions of people worldwide influences production of Type 1 interferon, a workhorse of the immune system.

25 Nov 2025

New approach harnesses tumor's own machinery to produce immune-stimulating molecules

By stimulating cancer cells to produce a molecule that activates a signaling pathway in nearby immune cells, MIT researchers have found a way to force tumors to trigger their own destruction.

3 Nov 2025

Mutated RIG-I receptor causes kidney inflammation through Y-RNA activation

Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have discovered how a small, naturally occurring RNA molecule in the kidney activates a mutated immune receptor, triggering a chain reaction.

31 Oct 2025

How COVID mRNA vaccines may make cancer treatments more effective

Researchers found that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, when given within 100 days of starting immune checkpoint inhibitors, were linked to significantly longer survival in lung and melanoma cancer patients. The vaccines trigger a powerful type-I interferon response that primes tumors to become more responsive to immunotherapy.

23 Oct 2025