Autoimmunity News and Research

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Autoimmune Disease is a condition in which the body recognizes its own tissues as foreign and directs an immune response against them.

NeuroQuest to start U.S. clinical validation trials of blood test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

NeuroQuest Development Center, Inc., today announced they have entered into a service agreement with the University of California, San Diego for collection and processing of blood samples for their U.S. clinical validation trials.

10 Dec 2015

Flagship launches Rubius to develop functionalized red blood cells for treatment of serious diseases

Flagship Ventures, a leading innovation and venture firm focused on healthcare and sustainability, announced it has launched Rubius Therapeutics, to develop functionalized red blood cells for the treatment of autoimmune conditions, metabolic diseases, cancer, and other serious diseases.

9 Dec 2015

JEDI T-cells provide unique technology to study, visualize immune responses and immunotherapies

When it comes to fending off disease and helping prevent people from falling ill, the body's immune system -- armed with T-cells that help eliminate cancer cells, virus-infected cells and more -- is second to none. But exactly how the immune system works remains, in many ways, a mystery, as there are numerous cell types whose functions and interactions with our immune systems have not been well understood.

5 Nov 2015

Study highlights importance of sex-specific differences in complex biological processes

New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that male and female mice respond differently to inflammation at the cellular level. Specifically, in male mice the spleen acts as a source of white blood cells, while in females this is not the case. This discovery suggests that human studies are necessary to determine if current medical practices, which treat men and women generally the same, should be altered to reflect sex-specific differences.

3 Nov 2015

Small subtype of immune cells appears to prevent obesity

We tend to think of the immune system as guarding us against bacteria, viruses and assorted foreign invaders, but this system has some other surprising roles. Weizmann Institute researchers have now identified a small subtype of immune cells that appears to prevent metabolic syndrome: obesity, high blood pressure, and high levels of blood sugar and cholesterol.

3 Nov 2015

Researchers identify role of cGAS enzyme in autoimmune diseases

Activating an enzyme that sounds an alarm for the body's innate immune system causes two lethal autoimmune diseases in mice, while inhibiting the same enzyme rescues them, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

28 Oct 2015

Study shows how dietary fatty acids affect development and progression of multiple sclerosis

Dietary fatty acids affect the development and progression of autoimmune chronic-inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis. In a collaborative study between the Departments of Neurology at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (St. Josef-Hospital) and the Friedrich Alexander Universtiy Erlangen, researchers now found that long-chain fatty acids promote the development and propagation of CNS reactive immune cells in the intestinal wall. On the contrary, short-chain fatty acids promote the development and propagation of regulatory cells in the immune system.

22 Oct 2015

Single drop of blood in the brain can activate autoimmune response akin to multiple sclerosis

A new study from the Gladstone Institutes shows that a single drop of blood in the brain is sufficient to activate an autoimmune response akin to multiple sclerosis (MS). This is the first demonstration that introduction of blood in the healthy brain is sufficient to cause peripheral immune cells to enter the brain, which then go on to cause brain damage.

12 Oct 2015

Scientists calculate precise measurements of heritability in nine pediatric-onset autoimmune diseases

Scientists have calculated more precise measurements of heritability--the influence of underlying genes--in nine autoimmune diseases that begin in childhood. The research may strengthen researchers' abilities to better predict a child's risk for associated autoimmune diseases.

9 Oct 2015

HIV cure research may shift from single-therapy development model to combination therapy trials

The next five years of HIV research should shift gears from the classic single-therapy development model to moving directly from in vitro studies to combination therapy trials, authors argue in a new paper published online today.

25 Sep 2015

Fetal microchimerism could be a subtle and dizzyingly complex puzzle

Parents go to great lengths to ensure the health and well-being of their developing offspring. The favor, however, may not always be returned.

29 Aug 2015

Janus collaborates with Roche to develop TLR inhibitor to address several autoimmune diseases

Janus Biotherapeutics today announced that they have entered into a collaboration with Roche for the development of a small molecule toll-like receptor (TLR) inhibitor with the potential to address several autoimmune diseases. TLRs are an important class of proteins that play a key role in the innate immune system.

20 Aug 2015

Early exposure to inflammatory cytokines can paralyze CD4 T cells

In a discovery that is likely to rewrite immunology text books, researchers at UC Davis have found that early exposure to inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 2, can "paralyze" CD4 T cells, immune components that help orchestrate the body's response to pathogens and other invaders.

19 Aug 2015

Bacteria in gut may be the cause of uveitis in the eye

The inflammatory eye disorder autoimmune uveitis occurs when a person's immune system goes awry, attacking proteins in the eye. What spurs this response is a mystery, but now a study on mice suggests that bacteria in the gut may provide a kind of training ground for immune cells to attack the eye.

19 Aug 2015

CRI to honor three scientists for contributions to immunology and cancer immunotherapy research

The Cancer Research Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fueling the discovery and development of immunotherapies for all forms of cancer, will bestow its highest honors on three scientists who have made fundamental contributions to the fields of immunology and cancer immunotherapy.

10 Aug 2015

CRI commits $29.3 million in new funds to accelerate development of cancer immunotherapies

The Cancer Research Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fueling the discovery and development of immunotherapies for all forms of cancer, announced that it has committed more than $29.3 million in new funds to accelerate cancer immunology research and cancer immunotherapy clinical development in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.

5 Aug 2015

Necrotising autoimmune myopathy requires early, aggressive treatment

Researchers call for the prompt recognition of necrotising autoimmune myopathy and aggressive early treatment with a combination of intravenous immune globulin, corticosteroids and a steroid-sparing agent for 3 months.

27 Jul 2015

New study suggests novel ways to treat serous retinal detachment

Wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss in older individuals. AMD and other serious chronic eye problems that affect younger individuals result when fluid accumulates abnormally under or within the retina. A new study published in The American Journal of Pathology shows for the first time that the release of substances from mast cells may be a causal factor in this type of eye pathology, and inhibitors of this release may offer new ways to treat serous retinal detachment.

22 Jul 2015

TSRI researchers awarded grant to study how environmental factors trigger autoimmune diseases

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 1.5 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and 322,000 have lupus, a chronic and potentially life-threatening disease that can damage skin, joints and organs.

10 Jul 2015

Bacterial biofilms play role in development of systemic lupus erythematosus

Lupus, multiple sclerosis, and type-1 diabetes are among more than a score of diseases in which the immune system attacks the body it was designed to defend. But just why the immune system begins its misdirected assault has remained a mystery.

7 Jul 2015