Immune Response News and Research

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Addition of L19-IL2 can increase radiation therapy-induced immune response against tumours

Radiation therapy not only kills cancer cells, but also helps to activate the immune system against their future proliferation. However, this immune response is often not strong enough to be able to cure tumours, and even when it is, its effect is limited to the area that has been irradiated.

2 May 2016

Early exposure to pathogens may play pivotal role in immune system development

Exposure to pathogens early in life is beneficial to the education and development of the human immune system.

30 Apr 2016

Small doses of cancer drug may be potential treatment for sepsis and other pandemics

Results from laboratory experiments and mouse studies suggest that small doses of drugs from a specific class of approved cancer medications called topoisomerase 1 (top1) inhibitors may protect against the overwhelming immune response to infection that sometimes leads to sepsis, a bacterial condition that kills as many as 500,000 people in the United States each year.

30 Apr 2016

Exposure to fine particulate matter in air can increase risk of cancer-specific mortality

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a series of monographs on the evaluation of various carcinogenic risks. In a monograph on air pollution, the organization pointed out the difficulty of assessing the effects of pollution on multiple types of cancers, given their different etiologies, risk factors and variability in the composition of air pollutants in space and time. However, the IARC identified certain key components of air pollution, including particulates.

30 Apr 2016

New therapeutic target to treat bacterial infections may substitute antibiotics

Infections continue to threaten human health. With remarkable genetic flexibility, pathogenic organisms outsmart available therapies. Fortunately, microbial versatility is matched by the host immune system, which evolves in dialogue with the microbes. Therapies that enhance the beneficial effects of the immune response represent a promising, but under-explored, therapeutic alternative to antibiotics.

29 Apr 2016

First-ever vaccine to combat Leishmaniasis under development

As scientists scramble to get a Zika virus vaccine into human trials by the end of the summer, a team of researchers is working on the first-ever vaccine to prevent another insect-borne disease - Leishmaniasis - from gaining a similar foothold in the Americas.

27 Apr 2016

Scientists discover Hobit, Blimp1 genes that fight disease-causing pathogens

Melbourne researchers have uncovered the genes responsible for the way the body fights infection at the point of 'invasion' - whether it's the skin, liver, lungs or the gut.

25 Apr 2016

Scientists uncover molecular identity of previously unknown Glima molecule in Type 1 diabetes

Scientists have solved a decades-old medical mystery by finally identifying a previously unknown molecule which is attacked by the immune system in people with Type 1 diabetes.

25 Apr 2016

Study shows cancer cell death via necroptosis can drive pancreatic tumor growth

The most aggressive form of pancreatic cancer - often described as one of the hardest malignancies to diagnose and treat -- thrives in the presence of neighboring tumor cells undergoing a particular form of "orchestrated cell death." This is according to a major study recently published in the journal Nature.

25 Apr 2016

Sleep loss influences cholesterol metabolism, study finds

Lack of sleep has previously been found to impact the activation of the immune system, inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism and the hormones that regulate appetite. Now University of Helsinki researchers have found that sleep loss also influences cholesterol metabolism.

22 Apr 2016

Naturally-occurring molecule can cause immune cells to go into hyperactive state

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital report that a fatty chemical naturally found in damaged tissues can induce an unexpected kind of immune response, causing immune cells to go into a "hyperactive" state that is highly effective at rallying infection-fighting T-cells. The findings, published online by Science on April 21, could enhance vaccines and make them much more effective.

22 Apr 2016

Infected mice can be better models for human diseases

Vaccines and therapeutics developed using mice often don't work as expected in humans. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis points to the near-sterile surroundings of laboratory mice as a key reason.

21 Apr 2016

Blocking IL-1 signalling molecule could alleviate asthma symptoms

Scientists have made a discovery that could lead to improved treatment for asthma sufferers.They have found that blocking a certain signalling molecule can alleviate symptoms such as mucus production, swelling (edema), and constriction of the airways in the lungs.

21 Apr 2016

Scientists map core genes involved during DNA uptake in strep bacteria

Bacteria possess the ability to take up DNA from their environment, a skill that enables them to acquire new genes for antibiotic resistance or to escape the immune response. Scientists have now mapped the core set of genes that are consistently controlled during DNA uptake in strep bacteria, and they hope the finding will allow them to cut off the microbes' ability to survive what doctors and nature can throw at them.

21 Apr 2016

TNF-alpha protein involved in autoimmune diseases may also promote tissue healing

As its name suggests, inflammatory bowel disease, which afflicts more than 1.6 million Americans, involves chronic inflammation of all or some of the digestive tract. An autoimmune disease known to have a strong genetic component, its symptoms are abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and fever and, sometimes, weight loss. IBD, which is a group of inflammatory conditions, includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

21 Apr 2016

Novel gene therapy can improve symptoms of Bubble Boy disease in young adults

Adolescents and young adults with a severe inherited immunodeficiency disorder improved following treatment with novel gene therapy developed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The results of this study appear today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

21 Apr 2016

Non-invasive test to diagnose EoE could replace need for repeated endoscopy

A non-invasive test to diagnose and monitor an inflammatory disease that injures the esophagus - called eosinophilic esophagitis or EoE - would replace the need for repeated endoscopy for a growing number of children and adults with this relatively new condition.

21 Apr 2016

Two Ebola vaccine candidates show promise in clinical trial

An immunization regimen using two Ebola vaccine candidates was safe and well-tolerated and induced an immune response in healthy adult volunteers in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

20 Apr 2016

Researchers develop new mathematical model to evaluate best treatment protocol to clear infection

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most challenging problems in modern medicine. A new study by Erida Gjini and Patricia H. Brito from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, provides a new mathematical model to evaluate the best treatment protocol to clear an infection, by taking into account the role of the host immune system.

20 Apr 2016

Study evaluates influence of midwife-led antenatal care on VBAC rates

Women who had a caesarean section in a previous pregnancy are much more likely to have a safer vaginal birth if their antenatal care is led by a midwife, according to a new study from The University of Manchester.

20 Apr 2016