Immune Response News and Research

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Scientists investigate how T cells in colorectal tumors actively fight cancer

In recent years, a standard follow-up to colorectal cancer surgery has been to analyze the tumor tissue for the presence of immune cells. Finding high quantities of cytotoxic T cells, or "killer cells", means that there is a good chance that the disease will take a favorable course and that the risk of metastasis is comparatively low.

5 Feb 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers reveal that e-cigarettes weaken immune system

In a study with mice, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers have found that e-cigarettes compromise the immune system in the lungs and generate some of the same potentially dangerous chemicals found in traditional nicotine cigarettes.

5 Feb 2015

Research findings demonstrate new approach to transform behavior of tumor cells

Inserting a specific strain of bacteria into the microenvironment of aggressive ovarian cancer transforms the behavior of tumor cells from suppression to immunostimulation, researchers at Norris Cotton Cancer Center and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth have found.

5 Feb 2015

Anti-viral immune cells could inhibit bone marrow transplant infections caused by CMV

Bone marrow transplantation is a life-saving therapy for patients with blood cancers like leukemia or lymphoma. However, the depletion of the patient's immune system prior to transplantation can put patients at risk of for an infection by a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) that can be life threatening in these immune-compromised individuals.

4 Feb 2015

Research findings could improve fight against some infections, auto-immune diseases

A team of international scientists has discovered a new mechanism by which immune cells in the skin function as the body's 'border control', revealing how these cells sense whether lipid or fat-like molecules might indicate the presence of foreign invaders.

4 Feb 2015

New study helps explain how booster shots trigger immune 'memory' to improve

The last time you were in the doctor's office for a vaccine booster shot, did you wonder why you needed one? Exactly how booster shots offer long-term protection from viruses has long been a mystery to scientists.

3 Feb 2015

Researchers gain new insight on immune cells that harbor latent HIV virus

Drugs for HIV have become adept at suppressing infection, but they still can't eliminate it. That's because the medication in these pills doesn't touch the virus' hidden reserves, which lie dormant within infected white blood cells. Unlock the secrets of this pool of latent virus, scientists believe, and it may become possible to cure - not just control - HIV.

2 Feb 2015

Some genetic features associated with modern diseases are ancient

Psoriasis, a chronic skin condition, can cause rashes that itch and sting. So why would a genetic susceptibility to this and other ailments persist for hundreds of thousands of years, afflicting our ancient ancestors, and us?

31 Jan 2015

VG Life Sciences issues patent relating to treatment of IBD through CLIP-inducing agent

VG Life Sciences, (VGLS), a biotechnology company developing therapies for autoimmune and infectious diseases, today announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 8906846, covering a method of treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) through the administration of a CLIP-inducing agent.

31 Jan 2015

Immunotherapy expert discusses the concept of precision immunology and personalized medicine

With President Obama's recent State of the Union speech addressing the launch of a national precision medicine initiative to further tackle cancer and other diseases, a leading immunotherapy expert from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey weighs in on where we stand with precision immunology and personalized medicine and what needs to be accomplished.

30 Jan 2015

Gluten-free diet important for people with celiac disease

You'd never suspect it from the proliferation of gluten-free items on supermarket shelves. Yet only one in approximately 133 people - that's 0.75 percent of the population - has celiac disease, a genetic autoimmune disorder that causes the body to react negatively to the intake of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and their derivatives.

29 Jan 2015

Researchers create customized soap bubbles that promote drug and vaccine delivery

When University of Maryland Professors Philip DeShong and Daniel Stein began tagging soap bubbles with biomolecules, they had no idea this technology would one day be poised to change the way drugs and vaccines fight against bacteria, viruses and cancer.

29 Jan 2015

Age and HBsAg level predict NA-induced HBeAg seroconversion durability

The combination of age and baseline hepatitis B s-antigen level can help predict hepatitis B virus relapse in patients who achieve hepatitis B e-antigen loss or seroconversion following nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) treatment, researchers report.

28 Jan 2015

Preventing obesity-related inflammation may reverse type 2 diabetes

Preventing inflammation in obese fat tissue may hold the key to preventing or even reversing type 2 diabetes, new research has found.

28 Jan 2015

Efficacy of ebola vaccine to be assessed in large-scale clinical trial

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced today that they will soon be commencing the first large-scale clinical trial to assess the efficacy of an experimental ebola vaccine.

23 Jan 2015

New discovery may help doctors develop better treatments for brain, spinal cord injuries

In a discovery that could dramatically affect the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries, researchers have identified a previously unknown, beneficial immune response that occurs after injury to the central nervous system.

23 Jan 2015

Researchers find CREB-activated genes in long-term memory-trained worms

A new study has identified genes involved in long-term memory in the worm as part of research aimed at finding ways to retain cognitive abilities during aging.

23 Jan 2015

NCCS launches human clinical trial of new cancer vaccine

The National Cancer Centre Singapore has launched a clinical trial of a new cancer vaccine administered to human patients for the first time in the world. Cancer immunotherapy (the harnessing of the body's defence system to fight the patient's cancer, has emerged as one of the most exciting medical breakthroughs in the past two years.

22 Jan 2015

INRS researchers to use new specialized equipment to study environmental equity, male infertility

With the acquisition of new specialized equipment, INRS researchers Philippe Apparicio, Géraldine Delbès, and Maritza Jaramillo and their teams will be able to advance knowledge and train highly qualified people in the fields of environmental equity, reproductive toxicology, and the treatment of infections. They received a total of over $1 million from the Quebec government and the John R. Evans Leaders Fund of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

22 Jan 2015

Scientists take a huge step forward in identifying root causes of psoriasis

Case Western Reserve scientists have taken a huge leap toward identifying root causes of psoriasis, an inflammatory skin condition affecting 125 million people around the world. Of the roughly 50,000 proteins in the human body, researchers have zeroed in on four that appear most likely to contribute this chronic disease.

22 Jan 2015