Macrophage News and Research

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A macrophage is a type of white blood cell that surrounds and kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune system cells.

Streptococcus bacteria uses sword and shield to fight white blood cells

A single gene called cylE within the important bacterial pathogen Group B Streptococcus (GBS), controls two factors that act together as a “sword” and “shield” to protect the bacteria from the killing effects of the immune system’s white blood cells

21 Sep 2004

Common enzyme acts as a natural brake to prevent potentially deadly runaway inflammation

An enzyme found in nearly all animal and human cells acts as a natural brake to prevent potentially deadly runaway inflammation, UCSF scientists have discovered.

30 Aug 2004

Stanford researchers identify leukemia stem cells

A handful of leukemia cells constantly replenish the supply of cancerous cells, according to new work by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

11 Aug 2004

First evidence of the molecular link between inflammation and cancer

The investigators found that a gene called I-kappa-B kinase (IKK beta), a pro-inflammatory gene, acts differently in two cell types to cause cancer. When IKK beta was deleted, the cancer incidence and tumor growth in mice was decreased by nearly 80 percent.

5 Aug 2004

Adenosine triphosphate is a culprit in causing the devastating damage of spinal cord injury

ATP - adenosine triphosphate, the vital energy source that keeps our body’s cells alive, runs amok at the site of a spinal cord injury, pouring into the area around the wound and killing the cells that normally allow us to move, scientists report in the cover story of the August issue of Nature Medicine.

29 Jul 2004

Misfiring proteins linked to sick feeling of type 2 diabetics

After a series of studies in the laboratory of Dr. Gregory Freund, a clearer picture is emerging: A disruption of signaling proteins in the immune system may be responsible for the inflammation that makes someone with type 2 diabetes feel sick and increases the risk of serious complications.

29 Jul 2004

Researchers discover a carbohydrate with an unusual structure in the cell walls of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis

Even though we have lost much of our fear of tuberculosis in the industrialized countries, according to the WHO about 2 million people worldwide die each year of this infectious disease.

28 Jul 2004

Y's Therapeutics files for clinical trials in Europe for rheumatoid arthritis and asthma

Y's Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, said today it has submitted applications to the Ethics Committee and Ministry of Health (BfArM) in Germany to begin Phase II clinical trials for its two most advanced projects, YSIL6 for rheumatoid arthritis and YSTH2 for asthma.

26 Jul 2004

Latest findings on HIV pathogenesis at AIDS Conference in Bangkok

At the XVth International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR), will present his laboratory’s latest findings on how aberrant immune activation underlies HIV pathogenesis.

15 Jul 2004

Harmless form of the herpes virus may help create a vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists have taken an important step toward creating a vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease, customizing the response of the immune system with unprecedented precision.

30 Jun 2004

Some smokers may be genetically predisposed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In her study, Ohar looked at more than 500 men and women age 40 and older who had smoked 20 years or more. She found that a variation of the macrophage scavenger receptor gene (MSR-1) is related to the development of airways obstruction in some patients who smoke cigarettes.

25 May 2004

Breastfeeding decreases risk of heart disease later in life

A recent UK study of 216 teenagers, published in the Lancet, found that breastfeeding in infancy is likely to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in later life.

14 May 2004

Jefferson scientists learn how HIV causes dementia

Ever since the AIDS epidemic began more than two decades ago, scientists have been trying to understand why as many as one-quarter of those infected with HIV develop dementia.

19 Apr 2004

Research suggests protein released from lungs could initiate labour

A protein released from the lungs of a developing mouse fetus initiates a cascade of chemical events leading to the mother's initiation of labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.

22 Mar 2004

New research may help prevent anthrax, bubonic plague and typhoid fever

The mechanism used by the bacteria that cause anthrax, bubonic plague and typhoid fever to avoid detection and destruction by the body’s normal immune response, leading to life-threatening bacterial infections, has been identified by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

22 Mar 2004