Immunosuppression News and Research

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Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.

ACTG announces positive data for monoclonal antibody combination therapy from the ACTIV-2 study

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group, the largest global HIV research network, which has expanded its focus to include evaluating outpatient treatment for COVID-19, today announced positive data for the monoclonal antibody combination therapy BRII-196/BRII-198 from the ACTIV-2 study of Outpatient Monoclonal Antibodies and Other Therapies.

27 Aug 2021

New clinical trial to test third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people

A new clinical trial to determine whether a third dose of vaccine will improve the immune response for people who have weakened immune systems is launching in the UK.

24 Aug 2021

Study in dogs may lead to better understanding of how gliomas affect the immune system

A new study reveals that high-grade gliomas, or brain tumors, in dogs contained more immune cells associated with suppressing immune response than low-grade gliomas.

20 Aug 2021

Remote controlling of CAR-T cells with heat to precisely target tumors

A team of researchers led by bioengineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology is expanding the precision and ability of a revolutionary immunotherapy that is already transforming oncology. CAR T-Cell therapy has been hailed by patients, clinical-researchers, investors, and the media as a viable cure for some cancers.

18 Aug 2021

Risk factors for hospitalization among HIV patients infected with SARS-CoV-2

The hospitalization of PWH with COVID-19 is related to host factors such as older age and co-morbidities, rather than due to traditional metrics of HIV.

11 Aug 2021

Natural vs. vaccine-induced COVID-19 immunity

A new paper discusses the protection offered by immunity against COVID-19 following vaccination as compared to natural infection.

10 Aug 2021

Pilot study assesses antibody response to third COVID-19 vaccine dose in kidney transplant recipients

A pilot study has begun to assess the antibody response to a third dose of an authorized COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in kidney transplant recipients who did not respond to two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

10 Aug 2021

Scientists urge increased attention to persistent COVID-19 infections in immunocompromised people

In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine, the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina urged increased attention to persistent COVID-19 infections in immunocompromised people.

5 Aug 2021

Immunocompromised patients could be potential hosts for immune-escape mutants of SARS-CoV-2

In a recently published article in The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists have described how multi-mutational variants of SARS-CoV-2 may evolve in patients with immunosuppression.

5 Aug 2021

Scientists seek to block pathogen’s most reliable weapon to cause severe malaria

The parasites that cause severe malaria are well-known for the sinister ways they infect humans, but new research may lead to drugs that could block one of their most reliable weapons: interference with the immune response.

21 Jul 2021

Could new strains of COVID evolve in farm animals or pets?

It appears no one is safe from severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Given that SARS-CoV-2 likely developed in bats and later transmitted to humans in Wuhan, China, there has been concern over animals infecting humans. But more evidence has shown that humans are more likely to infect animals — from hamsters, gorillas to the domestic cat.

14 Jul 2021

Real-world evidence SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines work and help prevent worst outcomes

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 and Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccines at preventing hospitalizations due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

12 Jul 2021

New PET imaging method tracks immunotherapeutic efficacy in mouse models

Several cancer tumors grow through immunosuppression; that is, they manipulate biological systems in their microenvironments and signal to a specific set of immune cells--those that clear out aberrant cells--to stop acting. It is no wonder that immunotherapy designed to re-establish anti-tumor immunity is rapidly becoming the treatment of choice for these cancers.

2 Jul 2021

Researchers seek to quantify immunogenicity of COVID vaccines in immunocompromised patients

Evidence continues to mount that vaccination against COVID-19, most notably the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, produces robust, durable protection in the vast majority of recipients.

2 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 inhibited by pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitors in conjunction with nucleoside analogs

In an effort to hasten the research on identifying antiviral drugs for SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers from the U.S. and Switzerland performed extensive drug screening for antiviral activity using live virus infection in human respiratory cells. As a result, they identified a set of possible drug candidates that could potentially be tested in clinical trials.

30 Jun 2021

UTHSC researchers publish new findings on how obesity impacts cancer treatments

Liza Makowski, PhD, professor in the Department of Medicine and the UTHSC Center for Cancer Research, has long been interested in how the immune system is altered by obesity and how this impacts cancer risk and treatment.

25 Jun 2021

CD39+ monocyte count higher in pregnant than non-pregnant COVID-19 patients

A new study published on the bioRxiv* server describes the changes in the representation of a subset of activated monocytes in this group of patients.

23 Jun 2021

mRNA COVID-19 vaccines may increase patients' concerns about side effects

Vivid photos of the red "COVID arm" rash and reports of facial swelling in patients who have received dermatological fillers after Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccination for COVID-19 may increase patients' concerns about mRNA vaccine side effects and contribute to vaccine hesitancy.

23 Jun 2021

COVID-19 studies should provide sex-disaggregated data, researchers warn

Researchers have warned that studies examining sex-specific responses to infection with SARS-CoV-2 must provide sex-disaggregated data.

21 Jun 2021

Cinnamon compound could be useful supplement to dexamethasone in COVID-19 treatment

Researchers in Germany and the United States have conducted a study showing that supplementing dexamethasone treatment with Ceylon cinnamon in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may allow dexamethasone to be administered at lower doses, thereby avoiding the side effects that occur with high doses of the steroid.

17 Jun 2021