Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Mouse model can help identify new, more effective melanoma-preventing agents

Application of sun protection factor 30 (SPF30) sunscreen prior to exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) light delayed melanoma onset in a mouse model of the disease, according to data from a team at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. This data suggest that the mouse model can be used to identify new, more effective melanoma-preventing agents, according to principal investigator Christin Burd, PhD.

18 Apr 2016

MGH-led study confirms safety of allergy immunotherapy

A team of Massachusetts General Hospital investigators has found no evidence of infections related to administration of allergy immunotherapy, the common practice of injecting minimal quantities of allergens beneath the skin to reduce the allergic response.

18 Apr 2016

Study supports screening for HLA-B*5801 gene variant in Asian, black patients with gout

A multi-institutional study led by a Massachusetts General Hospital investigator finds significant racial disparities in the risk that patients being treated for gout will develop a serious, sometimes life-threatening adverse reaction to the most commonly prescribed medication. The increased risk closely correlates with the frequency of a gene variant previously associated with that adverse reaction, supporting recommendations to screen for that variant in patients from those populations.

16 Apr 2016

Scientists identify human protein that weakens immune response to HIV, other viruses

Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified a human (host) protein that weakens the immune response to HIV and other viruses. The findings, published today in Cell Host & Microbe, have important implications for improving HIV antiviral therapies, creating effective viral vaccines, and advance a new approach to treat cancer.

16 Apr 2016

MicroRNAs circulating in blood could lead to first diagnostic test for asthma

People with asthma have telltale molecules circulating in their blood, say researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. The discovery could lead to the first diagnostic blood test for asthma, as well as more targeted treatments for the condition.

16 Apr 2016

M10 peptide could help protect systemic sclerosis patients against fibrotic damage

The results of preclinical studies by investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) reported in the April 2016 issue of Translational Research suggest that the M10 peptide could help protect against fibrotic damage in patients with systemic sclerosis, particularly in those who develop interstitial lung diseases (ILD), its deadliest complication.

15 Apr 2016

Distribution of c-Myc protein during asymmetric cell division influences fate, roles of activated T cells

The fates of immune cells can be decided at the initial division of a cell. Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that the production of daughter cells with different roles in the immune system is driven by the lopsided distribution of the signaling protein c-Myc. Nudging c-Myc in one direction or the other could make vaccines more effective or advance immunotherapies for cancer treatment. The research appears online today in the scientific journal Nature.

12 Apr 2016

Dual-acting hybrid drug could be a promising new weapon against drug-resistant malaria

A combination of artemisinin and another drug (artemisinin combination therapy, ACT) is currently the best malaria treatment recommended by the World Health Organization.

12 Apr 2016

Cell-signaling protein holds key to understanding autoantibody formation in lupus patients

A signaling molecule called interferon gamma could hold the key to understanding how harmful autoantibodies form in lupus patients. The finding could lead to new treatments for the chronic autoimmune disease, said researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.

12 Apr 2016

Cornell researchers discover potential way to penetrate blood brain barrier

Cornell researchers have discovered a way to penetrate the blood brain barrier (BBB) that may soon permit delivery of drugs directly into the brain to treat disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and chemotherapy-resistant cancers.

11 Apr 2016

Vanderbilt's A.S.A.P sees increase in number of patients treated for alpha-gal syndrome

Vanderbilt's Asthma, Sinus and Allergy Program (A.S.A.P) has seen an increase in the number of patients being treated for alpha-gal syndrome, commonly known as the red meat allergy linked to tick bites.

7 Apr 2016

Salk scientists identify specific cellular switches that clear dying, dead neurons

By adolescence, your brain already contains most of the neurons that you'll have for the rest of your life. But a few regions continue to grow new nerve cells--and require the services of cellular sentinels, specialized immune cells that keep the brain safe by getting rid of dead or dysfunctional cells.

7 Apr 2016

Carbohydrate-binding protein controls inflammation in osteoarthritis patients

More and more people, particularly older people, are suffering from osteoarthritis due to wear and tear on their joints. This primarily affects the knee and hip joints but also the spine. In earlier studies, scientists at MedUni Vienna Department of Orthopaedics showed that raised levels of certain proteins, so-called galectins, and their docking sites are found in patients with osteoarthritis.

7 Apr 2016

Children of salmon-eating mothers less likely to develop asthma

Children born to mothers who eat salmon when pregnant may be less likely to have doctor diagnosed asthma compared to children whose mothers do not eat it, new research has shown.

6 Apr 2016

Researchers develop mouse model for testing vaccines, therapeutics to battle Zika virus

A research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has established a mouse model for testing of vaccines and therapeutics to battle Zika virus.

6 Apr 2016

Explaining asthma to children: an interview with Gabe Ortiz MPAS, PA-C

I think the main challenges in explaining asthma to children, is to make them understand that in most instances it may be a chronic condition that might need chronic daily medicine.

5 Apr 2016

Researchers find pathway to prevent emergence of zoonosis into human population

The parasite responsible for a form of malaria now spreading from macaques to humans in South Asia could evolve to infect humans more efficiently, a step towards enhanced transmission between humans, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers say that defining the means by which the Plasmodium knowlesi parasite invades red blood cells could lead to interventions to prevent the emergence of the zoonosis into the human population.

4 Apr 2016

MedUni Vienna researchers identify reason for chemoresistance in small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer is not usually detected until it is at an advanced stage, when metastases have already formed. Chemotherapy is very effective initially but, within a year, cancer recurs and this time does not respond to a course of chemotherapy. The research group headed by Gerhard Hamilton, University Department of Surgery at MedUni Vienna, has now managed to identify the reason for this chemoresistance.

4 Apr 2016

Seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination during pregnancy may guard against stillbirth

Seasonal influenza vaccination may guard against stillbirth, a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online suggests. Researchers in Western Australia analyzed data from nearly 60,000 births that occurred during the southern hemisphere's 2012 and 2013 seasonal influenza epidemics, and found that women who received the trivalent influenza vaccine during pregnancy were 51 percent less likely to experience a stillbirth than unvaccinated mothers.

2 Apr 2016

Novel method uses light-activated nanodrug to help fight antibiotic-resistant infections

A research team led by University of Arkansas chemist Jingyi Chen and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences microbiologist Mark Smeltzer has developed an alternative therapeutic approach to fighting antibiotic-resistant infections.

2 Apr 2016

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Mouse model can help identify new, more effective melanoma-preventing agents

MGH-led study confirms safety of allergy immunotherapy

Study supports screening for HLA-B*5801 gene variant in Asian, black patients with gout

Scientists identify human protein that weakens immune response to HIV, other viruses

MicroRNAs circulating in blood could lead to first diagnostic test for asthma

M10 peptide could help protect systemic sclerosis patients against fibrotic damage

Distribution of c-Myc protein during asymmetric cell division influences fate, roles of activated T cells

Dual-acting hybrid drug could be a promising new weapon against drug-resistant malaria

Cell-signaling protein holds key to understanding autoantibody formation in lupus patients

Cornell researchers discover potential way to penetrate blood brain barrier

Vanderbilt's A.S.A.P sees increase in number of patients treated for alpha-gal syndrome

Salk scientists identify specific cellular switches that clear dying, dead neurons

Carbohydrate-binding protein controls inflammation in osteoarthritis patients

Children of salmon-eating mothers less likely to develop asthma

Researchers develop mouse model for testing vaccines, therapeutics to battle Zika virus

Explaining asthma to children: an interview with Gabe Ortiz MPAS, PA-C

Researchers find pathway to prevent emergence of zoonosis into human population

MedUni Vienna researchers identify reason for chemoresistance in small cell lung cancer

Seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination during pregnancy may guard against stillbirth

Novel method uses light-activated nanodrug to help fight antibiotic-resistant infections

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