Immune System News and Research

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Genomic surveillance highlights the challenges posed by "shapeshifting" strains

A pioneering genomic surveillance study has provided the clearest picture yet of the arms race between Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacterium responsible for a range of illnesses such as pneumonia and meningitis, and the vaccines designed to protect against the most dominant types. A strain called GPSC10 was found to be a particular threat, due to its increased virulence, ability to transform its structure to evade vaccines and its resistance to several common antibiotics.

17 Aug 2022

Antiviral drugs in combination with antibody therapies could help protect people from the flu pandemic

Researchers at McMaster University have found a class of well-known antiviral drugs could be part of a one-two punch to treat seasonal influenza and prevent a flu pandemic when used in combination with antibody therapies.

16 Aug 2022

Do our tonsils absorb nanoplastics?

In a new study, researchers examined if the tonsils absorb nanoplastics.

16 Aug 2022

Next generation mRNA vaccines exhibit excellent protective and therapeutic effects

Researchers around the world have been working for years on developing vaccines against different types of cancer, but without much success. Now, Tufts School of Engineering researchers think they have found one that does work. They have devised a method of targeting cancer in mice with a vaccine that is so strong and precise, it eliminates tumors and even prevents their recurrence.

16 Aug 2022

Intestinal tissue-resident lymphocytes regulate their activity depending on glucose availability

A new study led by Marc Veldhoen, group leader at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM; Portugal) and Associate Professor at Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa (FMUL) and published today in the scientific journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) discovered that white blood cells that reside in the intestines, a specific group of immune cells called tissue-resident lymphocytes, use sugar as an energy source and have a faster metabolism than lymphocytes that circulate in the blood.

15 Aug 2022

Researchers engineer artificial replicas of G protein-coupled receptors

How do signals from outside the cell cause a response inside it? Such outside signals could be hormones or neurotransmitters. To notice them, the cell's surface possesses receptors. One of the key classes of such receptors are so-called G protein-coupled receptors, or in short GPCRs.

15 Aug 2022

Costly Chemicals; The Health and Economic Impact of 'Forever Chemicals'

With PFAS being commonly found in households worldwide, what are the health and economic impacts of these forever chemicals? In this interview, we speak to Dr. Linda Kahn to find out more!

15 Aug 2022

Why is COVID-19 more severe in people older than 50?

A new study reports that the reduced efficiency of the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 could be due to the reduced diversity of both B- and T-cells.

14 Aug 2022

People with blood-related cancers more likely to experience COVID breakthrough infections

Individuals with blood-related cancers are more likely to experience a COVID-19 infection even after being vaccinated, a University of Kansas Cancer Center study has found.

12 Aug 2022

How does COVID-19 increase clotting risk?

An in-depth review article describing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related coagulopathy has recently been published in the journal Nature Reviews Immunology.

11 Aug 2022

Study identifies multiple pathways adopted by SARS-CoV-2 to develop resistance to nirmatrelvir

Researchers demonstrated multiple routes SARS-CoV-2 might take to develop high-level resistance to nirmatrelvir, an oral antiviral targeting the 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2.

11 Aug 2022

Newly designed nanoparticles target the body’s immune cells to turn them against cancer

Scientists of the department of Advanced Organ Bioengineering and Therapeutics (Faculty of S&T, TechMed Centre) recently published a novel cancer immune therapy in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

11 Aug 2022

Gut microbial and immune parameters linked to heterogeneous inter-personal COVID-19 vaccine-triggered immunity

A new study identified the gut microbial and immune variables linked to heterogeneous messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine responses between individuals.

11 Aug 2022

SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain-based protein subunit vaccine shows promise against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers described a novel protein subunit vaccine comprising the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, dimerized with an immunoglobulin (Ig)G1-fraction, crystallizable (Fc) domain.

11 Aug 2022

Transposable element controls the immune system to favor host survival during virus infection

Researchers from UNSW Sydney have discovered that a particular transposable element, or jumping gene, in the genome has a profound effect on the immune response to virus infection.

11 Aug 2022

PET imaging could help measure the pharmacodynamic effects of using STING-activating drugs

Stimulator of interferon genes, or STING, helps regulate immune activation. Thus, drugs that activate STING are being tested as a form of cancer immunotherapy and for treating certain infections.

11 Aug 2022

UTSW scientists discover mechanism of RNA capping by SARS-CoV-2 virus

A team led by UT Southwestern researchers has identified how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, builds a structure called the RNA cap that's critical for successful viral replication.

10 Aug 2022

Review of natural products with promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 potential

In a new study, researchers reviewed existing literature on naturally active products with therapeutic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2.

10 Aug 2022

Experimental drug protects mice from sudden death due to blood vessel rupture

An experimental drug therapy protects mice from sudden death due to the rupture of a major blood vessel in the abdomen, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

10 Aug 2022

Study evaluates the tumor-modulatory effects of opsins on melanoma cancer

Melanopsin (OPN4) is a light-sensing protein found in skin and retina cells. A new study conducted at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil suggests that OPN4 can also participate in the development and progression of melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer.

10 Aug 2022

Immune System News and Research

Genomic surveillance highlights the challenges posed by "shapeshifting" strains

Antiviral drugs in combination with antibody therapies could help protect people from the flu pandemic

Do our tonsils absorb nanoplastics?

Next generation mRNA vaccines exhibit excellent protective and therapeutic effects

Intestinal tissue-resident lymphocytes regulate their activity depending on glucose availability

Researchers engineer artificial replicas of G protein-coupled receptors

Costly Chemicals; The Health and Economic Impact of 'Forever Chemicals'

Why is COVID-19 more severe in people older than 50?

People with blood-related cancers more likely to experience COVID breakthrough infections

How does COVID-19 increase clotting risk?

Study identifies multiple pathways adopted by SARS-CoV-2 to develop resistance to nirmatrelvir

Newly designed nanoparticles target the body’s immune cells to turn them against cancer

Gut microbial and immune parameters linked to heterogeneous inter-personal COVID-19 vaccine-triggered immunity

SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain-based protein subunit vaccine shows promise against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants

Transposable element controls the immune system to favor host survival during virus infection

PET imaging could help measure the pharmacodynamic effects of using STING-activating drugs

UTSW scientists discover mechanism of RNA capping by SARS-CoV-2 virus

Review of natural products with promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 potential

Experimental drug protects mice from sudden death due to blood vessel rupture

Study evaluates the tumor-modulatory effects of opsins on melanoma cancer

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