Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Greater gut bacteria diversity linked to longer progression-free survival in metastatic melanoma patients

The blend of bacteria in the digestive tract of metastatic melanoma patients is associated with disease progression or delay in patients treated with immunotherapy, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

6 Jun 2017

Long-term chronic bone loss occurs even after one time malaria infection

Malaria caused by Plasmodium parasites is a life-threatening infectious disease that kills at least half a million people annually while causing over 200 million new infections.

2 Jun 2017

Follistatin plays key role in embryo implantation

Looking to improve the success rate of assisted reproductive technologies, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine investigated in more detail the mechanism involved in successful embryo implantation, an essential component of female fertility.

2 Jun 2017

Gene therapy could give protection from severe allergies

A single treatment giving life-long protection from severe allergies such as asthma could be made possible by immunology research at The University of Queensland.

2 Jun 2017

LMU researchers show how genetic variant in people of African ancestry modulates immune cells

A genetic variant that is particularly prevalent in people of African ancestry confers protection against malaria. LMU researchers have now shown how it modulates the properties of white blood cells that play a major role in immune defenses and inflammation.

1 Jun 2017

Researchers find new way to block type 1 diabetes

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory, Cyteir Therapeutics and collaborating institutions have found a way to protect beta cells from destruction -- achieving a longtime, elusive goal that could lead to therapies preventing type 1 diabetes (T1D).

1 Jun 2017

Researchers uncover new way to enhance function of immune cells to combat multiple myeloma

Researchers from Belgium led by Prof. Dirk Elewaut of the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research and the team of Prof. Vanderkerken and Prof. Menu at the Hematology and Immunology lab of the VUB uncovered a new way to enhance the function of a specific type of immune cell that destroys tumors in multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer considered incurable.

1 Jun 2017

Food allergies: Understanding the causes and magnitude of the problem

Did you know 3.6% of the population has a documented food allergy and the most vulnerable population are females and Asians? This is what researchers have found trying to delve deeper into understanding food allergies.

1 Jun 2017

Brain's immune cells may play roles in neurodegenerative, psychiatric illnesses

Scientists have, for the first time, characterized the molecular markers that make the brain's front lines of immune defense--cells called microglia--unique.

31 May 2017

MGH scientists show how Shigella survives journey from mouth to the colon

Surviving the treacherous journey through the human body from the mouth to the colon takes a special kind of bacterial pathogen.

31 May 2017

New study documents prevalence of food allergies

Anecdotal evidence of food allergies abounds, but just how common are these allergies and intolerances? In a new study, investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital combed through medical records from more than 2.7 million patients, identifying more than 97,000 with one or more documented food allergy or intolerance.

31 May 2017

Study finds epigenetic changes in women consuming tea

Epigenetic changes are chemical modifications that turn our genes off or on. In a new study from Uppsala University, researchers show that tea consumption in women leads to epigenetic changes in genes that are known to interact with cancer and estrogen metabolism.

31 May 2017

Scientists could be one step closer to developing vaccines against viruses

Scientists could be one step closer to developing vaccines against viruses such as Zika, West Nile or HIV, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

31 May 2017

Scripps scientists make important advance in HIV vaccine design

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made another important advance in HIV vaccine design. The development was possible thanks to previous studies at TSRI showing the structures of a protein on HIV’s surface, called the envelope glycoprotein. The scientists used these structures to design a mimic of the viral protein from a different HIV subtype, subtype C, which is responsible for the majority of infections worldwide.

29 May 2017

Vitamin D supplements in pregnancy could help protect children against asthma

A new study published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has found that taking Vitamin D supplements in pregnancy can positively modify the immune system of the newborn baby, which could help to protect against asthma and respiratory infections, a known risk factor for developing asthma in childhood.

26 May 2017