Immune System News and Research

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NIH awards $4 million grant to develop novel genetic strategy for combating tuberculosis

William R. Jacobs, Jr., Ph.D., professor of microbiology & immunology and of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, has been awarded a three-year, $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a novel genetic strategy for combating tuberculosis (TB). TB causes almost two million deaths each year, making it the world's most deadly bacterial infection.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers identify new type of cell that protects from immune system attack

Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston have identified a new type of cell in mice that dampens the immune system and protects the animal's own cells from immune system attack.

5 Oct 2010

Aeras Global receives FDA grant to develop biomarkers for TB vaccine

The Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation is pleased to announce receipt of a grant from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop new biological and immunological biomarkers for TB vaccine development. The FDA grant, which supports the coordination of a multi-investigator project with researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa, will provide $362,102 in the first year of funding.

5 Oct 2010

Celldex Therapeutics presents initial clinical data on CDX-1401 cancer vaccine candidate at iSBTc meeting

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company presented initial clinical data on CDX-1401 at the 25th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) in Washington, DC. CDX-1401 is a novel antibody-based targeted cancer vaccine candidate being evaluated as a treatment for patients with melanoma and other cancers that are known to express the tumor antigen NY-ESO-1.

5 Oct 2010

Enzo commences clinical trial of Optiquel for chronic non-infectious uveitis

Enzo Biochem, Inc., announced today that, following filing of a investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA, its Enzo Therapeutics division is commencing a clinical trial of Optiquel™ , the Company's proprietary oral therapeutic for chronic non-infectious uveitis. The trial is designed as a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study with a long-term follow-up and is being conducted by the National Institute of Health's National Eye Institute (NEI).

4 Oct 2010

X-rays increase risk of developing childhood leukemia

Diagnostic X-rays may increase the risk of developing childhood leukemia, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health.

4 Oct 2010

NIH announces T-R01 project award to examine human microbiome

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that Martin J. Blaser, MD, the Frederick H. King Professor of Internal Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center has been awarded one of only twenty NIH Director's Transformative Research Projects (T-R01) award for research entitled "Disappearing Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Epidemic Obesity.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers create new cell lines from mesenchymal stem cells

Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo have engineered adult stem cells that scientists can grow continuously in culture, a discovery that could speed development of cost-effective treatments for diseases including heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

4 Oct 2010

Chronic infection with S. maltophilia bacterium may impact cystic fibrosis progression: Study

Exacerbations in cystic fibrosis (CF) may be linked to chronic infection with a bacterium called Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, which was previously thought to simply colonize the CF lung. The finding that chronic infection with S. maltophilia is independently linked with an increased risk of exacerbations gives clinicians and researchers a new potential measure of the health status of CF patients, as well as a new potential target in fighting their disease.

4 Oct 2010

Food allergies may contribute to asthma attacks: Study

Food allergies are more common among people with asthma and may contribute to asthma attacks, according to one of the most comprehensive surveys of food allergies ever undertaken.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers examine new genes to control mosquito-borne diseases

An Iowa State University researcher searched for new genes that are turned on during infection in a type of mosquito that is not only a pest, but transmits disease-causing pathogens.

4 Oct 2010

Research on immune system paves way to combat mother-to-infant HIV transmission

Researchers at Oregon Health &Science University may have uncovered a new weapon for combating HIV as it is passed from mother to newborn child. The research, which was led by researchers at OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center, will be published in the October 3rd online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

4 Oct 2010

NIH awards Scripps Research grants to study the mechanisms of protein complex

For Immediate Release -Scripps Research Institute scientists have been awarded approximately $65 million in four five-year grants as part of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) latest round of structural biology funding. The projects will focus on determining the shapes and functions of proteins and protein complexes that are important in biology and medicine.

4 Oct 2010

Study on immune system activation may help develop new drugs for infections

A new research report in the October 2010 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology sheds important light on how our immune systems detect invading organisms to be destroyed and removed from our bodies. The information from this research should ultimately help lead to the development of new drugs and treatments that allow health care providers to prevent runaway immune reactions that can have devastating consequences for people.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers find STIM1 protein inhibits voltage-operated calcium channels

A calcium sensing protein, STIM1, known to activate store-operated calcium channels has been found to also inhibit voltage-operated calcium channels, according to researchers at Temple University.

4 Oct 2010

Scientists identify a new way to cure food allergies

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a way to turn off the immune system's allergic reaction to certain food proteins in mice, a discovery that could have implications for the millions of people who suffer severe reactions to foods, such as peanuts and milk.

4 Oct 2010

Efforts against drug-resistant malaria along Thai-Cambodian border show progress, but more 'aggressive' approach needed, health officials say

Efforts to prevent the spread of drug-resistant malaria along the border between Cambodia and Thailand are showing signs of progress, but additional work is needed to contain the new strain, health officials said on Friday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports.

4 Oct 2010

Scientists find new replicating mechanism of Salmonella bacteria

New findings by National Institutes of Health scientists could explain how Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning, efficiently spread in people. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe finding a reservoir of rapidly replicating Salmonella inside epithelial cells. These bacteria are primed to infect other cells and are pushed from the epithelial layer by a new mechanism that frees the Salmonella to infect other cells or be shed into the intestine.

3 Oct 2010

Argos' AGS-003 in combination with sunitinib demonstrates favorable PFS for renal cell carcinoma

Argos Therapeutics announced that its Arcelis immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), AGS-003, demonstrated favorable progression-free survival (PFS) and safety in combination with sunitinib, based upon updated results from an ongoing Phase 2 trial.

1 Oct 2010

Healthy respect for flu this season

Flu season officially begins Friday, Oct. 1, and unlike last year's season when shortages lead to rationing, there will be plenty of vaccine on hand for everyone who wants a flu shot.

1 Oct 2010