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.

Researchers uncover novel virulence strategies employed by Leishmania parasite

Professor Albert Descoteaux of INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre and his team have discovered novel virulence strategies employed by the Leishmania parasite.

29 Jul 2016

Good ceramides in skin creams and shampoos may hold promise for Alzheimer's treatment

The best-selling lipid in the world, often prominently featured on skin cream and shampoo labels, appears to also hold promise for Alzheimer's treatment, scientists say.

25 Jul 2016

New study identifies alternative route for tuberculosis infection

Researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a new way that tuberculosis bacteria get into the body, revealing a potential therapeutic angle to explore.

22 Jul 2016

Scientists discover promising approach to combat life-threatening bacterial infections without antibiotics

Patients suffering from liver cirrhosis often die of life-threatening bacterial infections. In these patients the immune cells are unable to eliminate the bacterial infections.

19 Jul 2016

Researchers demonstrate important functional role of lincRNA in immune system

A long non-coding RNA (lincRNA) - called lincRNA-EPS - responsible for regulating innate immunity has been identified by a team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

14 Jul 2016

Scientists discover new mechanism by which TNF protects against intracellular pathogens

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF), a messenger substance in the immune system, plays an important role in triggering chronic inflammatory diseases. For this reason, TNF inhibitors are a standard form of treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and certain inflammatory bowel diseases.

11 Jul 2016

JAX researchers find precise, reliable way to identify leukemia cells of origin

Every cancer starts with a single cell, and Jackson Laboratory researchers have found a precise and reliable way -- whole-genome profiling of open chromatin -- to identify the kind of cell that leads to a given case of leukemia, a valuable key to cancer prognosis and outcome.

11 Jul 2016

Studies shed more light on relation between bacteria, immune system and antibiotics

Antibiotics and the immune system are the two forces that cope with bacterial infections. Now, two studies from Isabel Gordo's laboratory, at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, show for the first time that resistance to antibiotics and to the immune system is interconnected in bacteria.

4 Jul 2016

Researchers develop computer model for speed analysis of TB's complex life-cycle

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a serious global health problem accounting for 1.3 million worldwide deaths annually.

1 Jul 2016

Itaconate can suppress pro-inflammatory activity of macrophages

An international group of scientists from US, Canada, Germany and Russia has revealed a substance produced in humans that can suppress the pro-inflammatory activity of macrophages - specific cells of immune system.

1 Jul 2016

Experts receive NIH grant to study why some HIV-infected individuals resist TB

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine experts and colleagues in the United States and Africa have received an $11 million, five-year NIH grant to understand why some people living with HIV in Africa avoid becoming infected with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) despite exposure to high-TB-risk circumstances.

29 Jun 2016

Alcohol intoxication perturbs immune system of aged individuals

The immune system in the elderly is dysfunctional and infections are more prevalent, more severe, and harder to defeat. Drinking alcohol has a variety of damaging effects on the immune system and organs - like the gut, liver and lung - which can be worsened by pre-existing conditions as well as consumption of prescription and over-the-counter medications that aged individuals often take.

28 Jun 2016

Strengthening immune defence system may provide treatment alternative for tuberculosis

Researchers at Linköping University have made a discovery that could contribute to developing new vaccines and treatment alternatives for tuberculosis in the future. The results have been published in Scientific Reports, a sister journal to the highly respected periodical Nature.

27 Jun 2016

Legions of immune cells play complex role to destroy Legionella bacteria

Immunologists and microbiologists from the University of Melbourne's Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity - a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital - have led a study that defined a new cell type responsible for turning the attack back on the bacteria.

17 Jun 2016

IGF-1 protein may be key to prevent heart disease in older adults

As men and women grow older, their chances for coronary heart disease also increase. Atherosclerosis is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the arteries, which can lead to serious problems, including heart attacks, strokes or even death.

16 Jun 2016

CD36 receptor in nasal sensory neurons may be linked to preference for fatty food

A paper by Brazilian researchers published in the journal Scientific Reports describes a study showing that a subgroup of olfactory neurons in the nasal cavity express a cellular receptor specializing in the transport of lipid molecules.

14 Jun 2016

EPFL researchers reprogram TAMs to prevent tumor metastasis

One of the major obstacles with treating cancer is that tumors can conscript the body's immune cells and make them work for them. Researchers at EPFL have now found a way to reclaim the corrupted immune cells, turn them into signals for the immune system to attack the tumor, and even prevent metastasis.

14 Jun 2016

B lymphocytes can influence psoriasis by regulating cytokine IL-10

"A pathological and very complex autoimmune reaction of the skin": This is the definition doctors and scientists use to describe psoriasis, a disease that affects one to three percent of the population.

8 Jun 2016

Study provides new insights into development of skin-depigmenting disease vitiligo

Researchers at the University of Bonn and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität of Munich have decoded a new mechanism of how the immune system can specifically attack pigmented cells of the skin.