Chemokine News and Research

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Chemokines are a family of small cytokines, or proteins secreted by cells. Proteins are classified as chemokines according to shared structural characteristics such as small size (they are all approximately 8-10 kilodaltons in size), and the presence of four cysteine residues in conserved locations that are key to forming their 3-dimensional shape.

New UTMB study reveals mechanism central to pollen-induced allergies

A new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered a mechanism that is central to becoming allergic to ragweed pollen and developing allergic asthma or seasonal nasal allergies. The findings are currently available online in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.

23 Jul 2015

Wayne State researcher receives $1.9 million grant to improve EPCs-based cell therapy for vascular diseases

Chunying Li, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Wayne State University School of Medicine's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has secured his first R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to study the role and mechanism of the chemokine receptor CXCR2 in regulating new blood vessel formation, the so-called angiogenesis.

15 Jul 2015

3SBio obtains ex-China global rights to Apexigen's anti-TNF mAb technology

3SBio Inc., a leading China-based biotechnology company focused on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing biopharmaceutical products, today announced that it has acquired the ex-China global rights to Apexigen's anti-TNF monoclonal antibody ("mAb") technology. 3SBio previously acquired the China rights from Apexigen in 2006.

23 Jun 2015

Scientists reveal new combination method that efficiently destroys cancer cells

Scientists at the Institut Pasteur and Inserm have successfully increased the infiltration of immune cells into tumors, thus inducing the immune system to block tumor growth. In an article published in Nature Immunology, the scientists show that, in combination with existing immunotherapies, this process efficiently destroys cancer cells.

18 Jun 2015

Findings could lead to new therapies that stop breast cancer progression

Scientists have discovered a trigger that allows breast cancer cells to spread to the lungs. They have found that blocking the signals in mice with breast cancer greatly reduces the number of secondary tumours found in the lungs.

9 Jun 2015

Researchers discover new source for cells that can develop into coronary vessels

The heart has its own dedicated blood supply, with coronary arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart and cardiac veins that remove deoxygenated blood. This system of vessels nourishes the heart, enabling it to pump blood to all the other organs and tissues of the body. Yet despite their critical importance, the process and molecules required for coronary vessel development have not been fully determined.

30 May 2015

CXCR3 molecule is key mediator of melanoma metastasis, shows research

In a unique partnership demonstrating excellence in "team science," Dartmouth investigators from Norris Cotton Cancer Center identified a role for the molecule CXCR3 (widely known to regulate the migration of immune cells) as a key mediator of melanoma metastasis.

7 Apr 2015

Scientists potentially discover new therapeutic targets to halt progression of tumor cells

Chronic inflammation is directly associated with several types of cancer, yet the reasons as to why this happens at a cellular level remain unclear. Now, an international team of scientists led by researchers at The Wistar Institute has identified a multistep process showing not only how these cancers develop but also potentially discovering new therapeutic targets that could halt the formation and progression of tumor cells.

10 Feb 2015

Real-time RT-PCR TaqMan assay helps differentiate active pulmonary TB from LTBI

One of the roadblocks to the eradication of tuberculosis (TB) is the difficulty in identifying patients with latent TB infections (LTBI). Neither the tuberculin skin test (TST) nor interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) are capable of distinguishing active from latent infection or predicting the chance of reactivation.

7 Jan 2015

Research finding could lead to development of effective vaccines against microbial infections

The diverse functions of a special cell-recognition lipoprotein, LOX-1, weren't always fully understood. However, Baylor Research Institute investigators gained better insight into LOX-1's role in immune responses through a study recently published in Immunity. Investigators found that the lipoprotein promotes humoral responses, which could allow researchers to design effective vaccines against microbial infections, including influenza viruses and HIV.

11 Dec 2014

Researchers identify new targets for future CLL therapies

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is among the most frequent leukemias affecting adults in Western countries. It usually occurs in older patients, does not cause any symptoms for a long time and is often only discovered by accident. Despite treatment, relapses frequently occur. The immunologists Dr. Kristina Heinig and Dr. Uta Höpken (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch) and the hematologist Dr. Armin Rehm (MDC and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin) have now discovered why this is so.

7 Dec 2014

Targeting CXCR4–CXCL12–CXCR7 axis combats mTOR inhibitor resistance in renal cancer

There is considerable crosstalk between the CXCR4–CXCL12–CXCR7 axis and the mammalian target of rapamycin pathway in human renal cell carcinoma, and targeting the axis may overcome drug resistance to mTOR inhibitors, researchers suggest.

22 Jul 2014

Inflammatory shift in long-standing bipolar disorder

Patients with chronic bipolar disorder, but not those with schizophrenia, have a shift towards an M1 rather than an M2 macrophage response, research suggests.

15 Jul 2014

Discovery may lead to new treatments for common autoimmune diseases

Researchers at the University of Georgia report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that an enzyme known as Tumor Progression Locus 2, or Tpl2, plays a key role in directing and regulating several important components of the body's immune system.

17 Jun 2014

ASCO: Biothera to present phase 2 study data on predictive serum biomarker for NSCLC

Biothera will present research at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting linking a potential predictive serum biomarker to the clinical response to Imprime PGG immunotherapy in a recent phase 2 study in non-small cell lung cancer patients. The meeting begins today and runs through June 3 in Chicago.

31 May 2014

IL-8 expression predicts lung adenocarcinoma prognosis

Interleukin -8 expression is associated with a poor lung adenocarcinoma prognosis, say Japanese researchers, especially in patients whose tumours are positive for the KRAS mutation.

19 May 2014

Novel molecule prevents symptoms linked with allergen-induced asthma

A new study carried out by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces (Germany), the Free University of Berlin (Germany), UC San Diego, and Shinshu University (Japan) has identified a novel molecule that prevents T-cells from orchestrating asthma brought on by allergens.

13 May 2014