T Cell News and Research

Latest T Cell News and Research

Reovirus may be able to eliminate cancer cells from autologous stem cell transplants

Medical studies show that a common virus may be able to eliminate cancer cells from autologous stem cell transplants.

21 Feb 2006

Ebola DNA vaccine shows promise

Vical Incorporated has announced that an Ebola vaccine candidate administered using Vical's proprietary DNA delivery technology was safe and well tolerated, and produced both antibody and T-cell Ebola-specific responses in all healthy volunteers who received the full 3 doses of vaccine.

21 Feb 2006

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Eraxis to treat candidemia

Pfizer said today that Eraxis (anidulafungin) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat candidemia, a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection. Candidemia is the most deadly of the common hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, with a mortality rate of approximately 40 percent.

21 Feb 2006

Pig cells reverse diabetes in monkeys

A team of researchers in the U.S. have successfully reversed diabetes in monkeys using transplanted islet cells from pigs.

21 Feb 2006

Removing a gene involved in repairing damaged DNA causes metabolic syndrome

Removing a gene involved in repairing damaged DNA causes mice to develop the metabolic syndrome, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered.

21 Feb 2006

MIT researchers capture virus in extraordinary detail

Fifty years after MIT researchers pioneered the use of electron microscopy to study viruses, MIT scientists have helped produce the most detailed images yet of the tiny infectious agents.

21 Feb 2006

Inflammatory reaction drives hormone resistance in cancer

In the journal Cell, researchers report new evidence to explain why prostate cancer and other hormone-dependent cancers may become resistant to hormone therapies.

21 Feb 2006

Using neural growth factor could allow researchers to mass produce stem cells for treatment of disease

Human embryonic stem cells (hES) offer great hope for the treatment of some devastating diseases, but finding a way to keep enough of these cells usable and healthy for transplantation in patients has been an ongoing problem.

21 Feb 2006

Oddly shaped DNA can cause DNA breaks in mammalian cells

When otherwise normal DNA adopts an unusual shape called Z-DNA, it can lead to the kind of genetic instability associated with cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

21 Feb 2006

Mangafodipir appears to increase the cancer-killing ability of some chemotherapy drugs

A contrast agent currently used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), called mangafodipir, may increase the cancer-killing ability of some chemotherapy drugs while protecting normal cells, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

21 Feb 2006

New mechanism that regulates K-Ras - protein that plays an important role in cancer

Researchers have discovered a protein widely known to cause the out-of-control growth of cells can actually be manipulated to induce those cells to commit suicide, providing a novel target for the development of anti-cancer drugs, according to the results of a new study led by New York University School of Medicine researchers.

21 Feb 2006

Interleukin-15 encourages CD8+ T cells to proliferate and reduces their tolerance to tumor antigens

Certain types of white blood cells assist the body in destroying cancerous tumors. Among these are CD8+ T cells. The T is for thymus, the gland near the base of the throat that both raises up and weeds out blood cells involved in immune responses.

20 Feb 2006

Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor

Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor; Successfully causes brain tumor regression and improves animal survival

19 Feb 2006

Cathepsin inhibitors as cancer therapies

In the March 1 issue, Drs. Johanna Joyce (MSKCC), Douglas Hanahan (UCSF) and colleagues lend new insight into how broad-spectrum cysteine cathepsin inhibitors combat pancreatic cancer, and provide new data to help refine the design of more precisely targeted anti-cathepsin therapies.

17 Feb 2006

GeneDesign speeds design of artificial pieces of DNA

Johns Hopkins researchers have announced the development of a Web-based, automated computer program that they say greatly simplifies the time-consuming and error-prone process of manually designing artificial pieces of DNA.

17 Feb 2006

Ovarian cancer responds to aspirin and chemotherapy drug cisplatin

A new study using ovarian cancer cell lines shows promise in treating the deadly disease by combining the chemotherapy drug cisplatin with an aspirin-like compound to make recurrent cancer cells less resistant to the chemotherapy.

17 Feb 2006

Vitamin E is one of the first lines of defense in human lung tissue against the ravages of cigarette smoke

A new study has found that supplements of vitamin C can largely stop the serious depletion of vitamin E that occurs in smokers, demonstrating for the first time in humans a remarkable interaction between these two antioxidants as they work together.

17 Feb 2006

New compound CDDO-Im protects against the development of liver cancer

Researchers have identified a new compound called CDDO-Im that protects against the development of liver cancer in laboratory animals.

17 Feb 2006

Inactivating Rad9 protien could make cancer cells easier to kill with ionizing radiation

The researchers found that Rad9, previously considered a "watchman" that checks for DNA damage, is actually a "repairman" that fixes dangerous breaks in the DNA double helix. They found Rad9 is especially active in telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes.

17 Feb 2006

New flu vaccine takes weeks to mass produce

Using cell-based methods researchers have developed a commercially viable method for mass producing effective vaccines against potential pandemic influenza strains in weeks instead of the months required for traditional egg-based vaccines.

17 Feb 2006