Phagocytes News and Research

RSS

A 'cocktail' to kill cancerous tumors

A team of researchers in California and Massachusetts has developed a "cocktail" of different nanometer-sized particles that work in concert within the bloodstream to locate, adhere to and kill cancerous tumors.

5 Jan 2010

Scientists identify new behavioral traits of immune cells; findings may help in understanding complex diseases

In diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cells of the immune system infiltrate the brain tissue, where they cause immense damage. For many years, it was an enigma as to how these cells can escape from the bloodstream. This is no trivial feat, given that specialized blood vessels act as a barrier between the nervous system and the bloodstream.

6 Nov 2009

Research reveals that reactive oxygen inhibition can limit cancer cell invasion

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, play a key role in forming invadopodia, cellular protrusions implicated in cancer cell migration and tumor metastasis.

17 Sep 2009

Nanoparticle Trojan horse for ovarian cancer

In a feat of trickery, Dartmouth Medical School immunologists have devised a Trojan horse to help overcome ovarian cancer, unleashing a surprise killer in the surroundings of a hard-to-treat tumor.

19 Jul 2009

Bacteria of the Yersinia genus possess a unique protein thermometer

Bacteria are experts at adaptation: as soon as they have infected an organism, they adapt their metabolism to that of their host and produce substances which protect them from the body's immune defences. How they do this is still unknown in the case of many types of bacteria.

20 May 2009

Injected luminol glows blue revealing immune cells' misdeeds

Detectives on television shows often spray crime scenes with a compound called luminol to make blood glow.

22 Mar 2009

Paradigm shift in the regulation of immune response

Over the past decade various pieces of the puzzle how signal transmission controls immunity have been coming together.

20 Mar 2009

Helicobacter pylori can multiply in autophagic vesicles

Helicobacter pylori , a Gram-negative, flagellated, microaerophilic bacterium, can selectively colonize in the human stomach.

29 Jan 2009

New role for Natural Killer cells

Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and cancer.

28 Aug 2008

EpiCept announces opinion by European Regulatory Authority on Ceplene

EpiCept Corporation has announced that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), has issued, as expected following the trend vote announced last month, a negative opinion regarding the marketing authorization application (MAA) for Ceplene (histamine dihydrochloride) for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse of patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission.

24 Mar 2008

Genetic defect causes immune deficiency and balance disorder

A genetic defect that causes a severe immune deficiency in humans may also produce balance disorders, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Iowa, The Jackson Laboratory and East Carolina University.

21 Feb 2008

Possible anthrax drug targets

In the American government's biodefense efforts, the potential for terrorists to cause a deadly anthrax outbreak remains a significant concern, six years after the letter attacks that shook the nation shortly after 9/11.

3 Aug 2007

Acquired DNA key to certain bacterial infection

Researchers announced this week the discovery of a mechanism by which Mycobacterium avium - a bacterium which can result in serious lung infections and is prevalent in emphysema and AIDS patients among others - infects tissue cells or macrophages and thus compromises the body's immunity.

19 Jun 2007

Short-course postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis combined with vaccination protects against experimental inhalational anthrax

Anthrax vaccine administered in combination with a short course of antibiotics completely protected nonhuman primates from inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of the disease, according to scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

3 May 2006

HIF-1alpha expression regulates the bactericidal capacity of phagocytes

When microorganisms invade the body, immune mechanisms kick in to fight them off. The infected tissues typically show depleted oxygen levels, and a protein called HIF-1 alpha regulates this. Interestingly, the cells responsible for destroying the foreign pathogens are effective in this low-oxygen environment.

6 Jul 2005

Process for disposal of dying neutrophils actively linked to neutrophil production

New research identifies a critical inhibitory step that is a key component of the feedback circuit regulating the balance between neutrophil production and destruction.

23 Mar 2005

Cancer vaccine based on listeria bacteria shows promise

An experimental cancer vaccine using defanged listeria bacteria is showing great promise in animal studies, successfully treating new cancers that have spread into the lungs of mice.

29 Sep 2004