Immune System News and Research

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DNA primer vaccine enhances immune response to H5N1 avian influenza vaccine

The immune response to an H5N1 avian influenza vaccine was greatly enhanced in healthy adults if they were first primed with a DNA vaccine expressing a gene for a key H5N1 protein, researchers say.

4 Oct 2011

Researchers discover cell differentiation mechanism

Researchers from the Haematopoietic Differentiation and Stem Cell Biology group at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), have described one of the mechanisms by which a cell (from the skin, for example) can be converted into another which is completely different.

4 Oct 2011

Lung immune cells orchestrate the body's repair response following flu infection

There's more than one way to mop up after a flu infection. Now, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in Nature Immunology that a previously unrecognized population of lung immune cells orchestrate the body's repair response following flu infection.

4 Oct 2011

CNRS researcher wins 2011 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for immunology work

The 2011 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Jules Hoffmann, a French citizen native of Luxembourg, CNRS senior researcher emeritus and professor at the university of Strasbourg, jointly with Bruce A. Beutler for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity.

4 Oct 2011

Adaptimmune announces new board appointments as clinical programmes get underway

Adaptimmune, the T cell therapy company pioneering enhanced T cell receptor-driven T cells for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease, announces two new Board appointments with immediate effect. Dr Jonathan Knowles joins the Board as a non-executive director and Dr Helen Tayton-Martin, Adaptimmune’s Chief Operating Officer, becomes an executive director.

3 Oct 2011

La Jolla Institute scientist identifies previously unknown T cell interaction

Most of the time, the immune system is the body's protector, warding off invading viruses and bacteria before they can lead to infection and disease. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system does an about face, turning on the body and attacking normal cells.

3 Oct 2011

The US Oncology Network affiliate treats advanced prostate cancer patients with PROVENGE

David, a 67-year-old father of three and soon to be first-time grandfather, felt too young to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. "I felt great," he said. "I had no symptoms." David, under the advisement of his oncologist, decided to be treated with PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T), the first in a new therapeutic class known as autologous cellular immunotherapies.

1 Oct 2011

Pfizer releases Phase III study results comparing VFEND-ERAXIS combination to VFEND for IA

Pfizer Inc. today reported the top-line results of an international Phase III clinical trial which compared the combination of VFEND (voriconazole) and ERAXISTM (anidulafungin) to VFEND monotherapy for primary therapy of invasive aspergillosis, a life-threatening invasive fungal infection that can develop as a complication in patients with compromised immune systems.

1 Oct 2011

UCI study shows promise of metabolic therapy for autoimmune diseases

A glucosamine-like dietary supplement suppresses the damaging autoimmune response seen in multiple sclerosis, according to a UC Irvine study.

1 Oct 2011

Study demonstrates how the intestine maintains 'immune tolerance' under healthy conditions

Imagine a single drug that would treat most, if not all, autoimmune disorders, such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and Lupus. That might not be so hard to do thanks to a team of researchers who have discovered a molecule normally used by the body to prevent unnecessary immune reactions.

30 Sep 2011

Takeda acquires Nycomed

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda", TSE: 4502) announced it has completed its acquisition of Nycomed A/S for 9.6 billion Euro on a cash-free, debt-free basis and made Nycomed a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda effective the same day. Dr. Frank Morich has been named CEO of Nycomed in addition to his current role as Executive Vice President (EVP), International Operations, Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda America Holdings, Inc.

30 Sep 2011

Free radical peroyxnitrite linked to failure of cytotoxic T-cells to eliminate tumors

Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues have found that tumor cell resistance to a specific cancer immunotherapy designed to kill cancer cells can be blamed on a mechanism that involves the production of a free radical peroxynitrite (PNT) that causes resistance to therapeutic cancer-killing cells.

30 Sep 2011

Researchers develop HTGTS to map translocatome in the genome

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute (IDI) have created a method for mapping "hot spots" in the genome where chromosomes are most likely to break and recombine, knowledge that helps define the rules that govern when and where breaks occur.

30 Sep 2011

Immunotherapeutics for treatment of metastatic melanoma

A new cancer research program at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine will develop therapies designed to turn patients' own immune systems into potent weapons against cancer.

30 Sep 2011

Researchers determine structure of RIG-I protein linked with viral infections

Researchers at Rutgers and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have determined the structure of a protein that is the first line of defense in fighting viral infections including influenza, hepatitis C, West Nile, rabies, and measles.

30 Sep 2011

Small Phase I trial shows HIV vaccine candidate is most powerful to date

Researchers at the Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC) have successfully completed a small Phase I human clinical trial of an HIV vaccine candidate that granted 90 percent of 30 study participants an immunological response against the virus, Gizmag reports.

30 Sep 2011

United Nations 66th General Assembly to discuss how to reduce NCDs

University of Bergen researchers have contributed to an international declaration on the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Now the UN is discussing the issue.

30 Sep 2011

Immune cells in brain linked with behavioural responses to alcohol

University of Adelaide researchers have found that immune cells in your brain may contribute to how you respond to alcohol.

30 Sep 2011

Study provides insight into earliest stages of some cancers

A novel technique that enables scientists to measure and document tumor-inducing changes in DNA is providing new insight into the earliest events involved in the formation of leukemias, lymphomas and sarcomas, and could potentially lead to the discovery of ways to stop those events.

30 Sep 2011

Good quality sleep is essential for overall health

Sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, growth, stress reduction and other vital functions. So getting the right amount of good quality sleep is as essential for overall health as good nutrition and regular exercise.

30 Sep 2011