Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Innate immune system overreacts in patients with severe COVID-19

In patients with severe COVID-19, the innate immune system overreacts. This overreaction may underlie the formation of blood clots (thrombi) and deterioration in oxygen saturation that affect the patients.

23 Feb 2021

Propranolol can be used to treat cerebral cavernous malformations

Propranolol, a drug that is efficacious against infantile haemangiomas ("strawberry naevi", resembling birthmarks), can also be used to treat cerebral cavernous malformations, a condition characterized by misshapen blood vessels in the brain and elsewhere.

23 Feb 2021

HSE researchers discover genetic predisposition to COVID-19 severity

HSE University researchers have become the first in the world to discover genetic predisposition to severe COVID-19. The results of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

23 Feb 2021

WVU researchers set to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants, mitigate strain outbreaks

West Virginia University scientists knew it was coming. When health officials confirmed the first three cases of a COVID-19 variant in West Virginia late Friday (Feb. 19), they were not surprised.

22 Feb 2021

Study finds consistent neuroinflammatory response after intracerebral hemorrhage

Understanding how the immune system responds to acute brain hemorrhage could open doors to identifying treatments for this devastating disease.

22 Feb 2021

Children exposed to air pollution may be at higher risk of disease in adulthood

Children exposed to air pollution, such as wildfire smoke and car exhaust, for as little as one day may be doomed to higher rates of heart disease and other ailments in adulthood, according to a new Stanford-led study.

22 Feb 2021

Study identifies immune profile of people with severe COVID-19

A team of researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center, USA, investigated how SARS-CoV-2 affects the immune system’s response during and after infection and contributes to the severity of COVID-19.

22 Feb 2021

Trispecific antibody targets cancer cells, natural killer cells

Several treatments for cancer have been devised by science, but unfortunately none of them are completely efficient or foolproof.

19 Feb 2021

Are antibody cocktails the key to COVID-19 treatment?

News-Medical speaks to Dr. Natalia Freund about her latest research into COVID-19, and how most people are capable of producing neutralizing antibodies against the virus.

18 Feb 2021

Tuberculosis vaccine could protect newborns against common infections

The tuberculosis (TB) vaccine Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) could protect newborns against a variety of common infections, such as upper respiratory tract infections, chest infections and diarrhoea, according to a new study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

18 Feb 2021

New insights on structural biology may help design more efficient antibodies

In structural biology, some molecules are so unusual they can only be captured with a unique set of tools.

18 Feb 2021

Nasal antiviral blocks SARS-CoV-2 transmission in ferrets

A nasal antiviral created by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons blocked transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in ferrets, suggesting the nasal spray also may prevent infection in people exposed to the new coronavirus, including recent variants.

17 Feb 2021

Blood-clotting protein linked with tumor pathogenesis of CNS B-cell lymphoma

In people with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, cancerous B cells--a type of white blood cell--accumulate to form tumors in the brain or spinal cord, often in close proximity to blood vessels.

17 Feb 2021

Antibody effector functions are crucial part of treating COVID-19 infections

Of the nine treatments and preventives for COVID-19 authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, three are drugs made from so-called monoclonal antibodies.

17 Feb 2021

Study suggests a new way to personalize anti-CTLA-4 therapy for cancers

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a novel mechanism by which a type of cancer immunotherapy known as CTLA-4 blockade can disable suppressive immune cells to aid the destruction of certain tumors.

15 Feb 2021

Research shows how chemicals in the tumor microenvironment enable cancer to evade attack

A paper published today in Nature shows how chemicals in the areas surrounding tumors--known as the tumor microenvironment--subvert the immune system and enable cancer to evade attack. These findings suggest that an existing drug could boost cancer immunotherapy.

15 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 South Africa and Brazil variants show resistance to therapeutic antibodies

Scientists from Germany have determined the efficacy of currently used therapeutics in treating newer variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the UK, South Africa, and Brazil variants. Their findings reveal that both B.1.351 and B.1.1.248 variants are able to escape humoral immune responses induced by therapeutic antibodies, vaccinations, or natural SARS-CoV-2 infection.

15 Feb 2021

RIG-1-like receptors may play dominant role in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study by researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center, USA, reports the crucial nature of the pathogen pattern recognition receptor (PRRs), especially the two RLRs, retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5), in triggering host cell immune responses within the cell. The RLRs are viral RNA sensors.

15 Feb 2021

Study: Gut microbiota impacts the progression of brain lesions after stroke

Stroke-induced inflammation is both a blessing and a curse. Some of the inflammatory processes help heal the damaged brain after treatment, but others severely damage neurons and whole-body function.

15 Feb 2021

LMU researchers study T cell exhaustion

T lymphocytes, or T cells, are an important component of our immune system. They can recognize foreign proteins, so-called antigens, as peptide fragments - for instance, those derived from viruses or cancer cells.

13 Feb 2021