Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

'Molecular brake' on the immune system could be potential treatment target for severe COVID-19

Older people and people with underlying medical conditions are at particular risk of severe COVID-19. A group of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered one possible reason for this vulnerability.

8 Sep 2020

Study reveals complex immunology behind MIS-C in children with COVID-19

In a recent paper published in the prestigious journal Cell, researchers from Sweden and Italy show that inflammatory response in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children associated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) differs from the cytokine storm found in severe acute illness, involving autoantibodies at the same time and sharing several features with Kawasaki disease.

8 Sep 2020

The T cell responses in COVID-19 recovered individuals

A recent study demonstrates that functional CD4+ and CD8+ T cells specifically targeting the entire proteome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain active in individuals who have recovered from severe or mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Moreover, the magnitude of T cell response is correlated with the antibody response. The study is published in the journal Nature Immunology.

8 Sep 2020

Study addresses the role of macrophage activation syndrome in COVID-19

Scientists review macrophage activation syndrome — a feature of the cytokine storm that kills patients with severe cases of COVID-19, as well as possible treatments.

8 Sep 2020

Study finds strong T cell responses in patients recovered from COVID-19

Oxford University researchers have found that natural infection with COVID-19 produces a robust T cell response, including inducing T cell ‘memory’ to potentially fight future infections.

8 Sep 2020

Novel markers may predict patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors

For many individuals with different types of cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors can effectively boost their immune system to fight their disease, but not all patients benefit from these medications.

7 Sep 2020

Consortium compiles recommendations for measuring HIV reservoir size in cure-directed studies

Spearheaded by scientists at The Wistar Institute, top worldwide HIV researchers from the BEAT-HIV Martin Delaney Collaboratory to Cure HIV-1 Infection by Combination Immunotherapy compiled the first comprehensive set of recommendations on how to best measure the size of persistent HIV reservoirs during cure-directed clinical studies.

7 Sep 2020

A potential new way of treating Alzheimer’s Disease

In this interview, Dr. Brad. L. Heckman speaks to News-Medical about a new pathway that could potentially treat Alzheimers disease.

7 Sep 2020

Monitoring the activity of unconventional T cells could predict COVID-19 severity

Researchers in France have discovered that patients suffering from severe COVID-19 show changes in a class of immune cells known as unconventional T cells.

5 Sep 2020

Simulation platform teaches students the fundamentals of responses to pandemics

In 2015, a team of specialists in modeling disease outbreaks got together with educators to create Operation Outbreak, an educational platform and simulation intended to teach high school and college students the fundamentals of responses to pandemics.

3 Sep 2020

Phase 3 study to test efficacy of new treatment for pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome

Octapharma has launched a phase 3, multi-center superiority study to compare the effectiveness of PANZYGA (immune globulin intravenous, human - ifas) 10% Liquid Preparation versus placebo in patients with pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS).

3 Sep 2020

Two MDC scientists win ERC Starting Grants for pioneering research

Dr. Kathrin de la Rosa and Dr. Ilaria Piazza, who are both junior group leaders at the Max DelbruÌ-ck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, have each won European Research Council Starting Grants.

3 Sep 2020

New approach can make immunotherapy effective against cancers

If cancer is a series of puzzles, a new study pieces together how several of those puzzles connect to form a bigger picture.

3 Sep 2020

Combined point-of-care nucleic acid and antibody testing increases COVID-19 detection

A Cambridge hospital has piloted the use of combined rapid point-of-care nucleic acid and antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection after researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that this approach was superior to virus detection alone for diagnosing COVID-19 disease.

2 Sep 2020

Scientists identify potential blood-clotting mechanism in COVID-19

Why so many COVID-19 patients get blood clots (thrombosis) remains uncertain. But scientists at Uppsala University and the University Hospital have now identified a mechanism they believe to be implicated.

2 Sep 2020

Human antibody response to SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 reports on the human antibody response in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which is key to developing vaccines and managing the pandemic, as well as designing and executing serologic testing and interpreting their results.

1 Sep 2020

New microgel drug delivery method could improve effectiveness of pancreatic islet transplants

Pancreatic islet transplants, which revive insulin production to treat type 1 diabetes, only last an average of three years.

31 Aug 2020

Research shows how brain’s immune defenses respond to strokes in babies

New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine is shedding light on the development of the brain's immune defenses - and how those defenses respond to strokes that strike one in 4,000 babies in the first month of life.

31 Aug 2020

T cell epitopes from recovered COVID-19 patients identified for vaccine

A new study by researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 collates the available database of SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes gathered from 8 studies of COVID-19 patients who recovered. This could serve as a launchpad to fill in knowledge gaps regarding the immunological aspects of this disease, and drive towards an effective T cell vaccine.

31 Aug 2020

Thomas Jefferson University receives grant for the development of CoraVax

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has announced grants totaling $10M to 23 entities to develop effective COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and therapies.

28 Aug 2020

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

'Molecular brake' on the immune system could be potential treatment target for severe COVID-19

Study reveals complex immunology behind MIS-C in children with COVID-19

The T cell responses in COVID-19 recovered individuals

Study addresses the role of macrophage activation syndrome in COVID-19

Study finds strong T cell responses in patients recovered from COVID-19

Novel markers may predict patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors

Consortium compiles recommendations for measuring HIV reservoir size in cure-directed studies

A potential new way of treating Alzheimer’s Disease

Monitoring the activity of unconventional T cells could predict COVID-19 severity

Simulation platform teaches students the fundamentals of responses to pandemics

Phase 3 study to test efficacy of new treatment for pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome

Two MDC scientists win ERC Starting Grants for pioneering research

New approach can make immunotherapy effective against cancers

Combined point-of-care nucleic acid and antibody testing increases COVID-19 detection

Scientists identify potential blood-clotting mechanism in COVID-19

Human antibody response to SARS-CoV-2

New microgel drug delivery method could improve effectiveness of pancreatic islet transplants

Research shows how brain’s immune defenses respond to strokes in babies

T cell epitopes from recovered COVID-19 patients identified for vaccine

Thomas Jefferson University receives grant for the development of CoraVax

eBook: Cell-based technologies in drug discovery and Immunotherapy eBook

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation