Immune System News and Research

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Researchers identify antibodies that prevent SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells

The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells depends on interactions between the viral spike protein and the human cell surface protein ACE2.

5 Nov 2020

Study reveals new mechanism underlying immune-cell activation

When antibody-producing immune cells encounter infectious pathogens for the first time, they engage a signal cascade to generate a massive activation signal within seconds.

5 Nov 2020

Study shows T cells can prevent Zika infection in mice

Where Aedes mosquitoes fly, Zika virus may not be far behind. Although the explosive 2015–2016 Zika epidemics in the Americas are behind us, Zika may re-emerge, and "in many countries, Zika may be spreading in silence," says Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., a professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI).

5 Nov 2020

Researchers explore how different birth experience affect the developing nervous system

It is an experience we all share, as miraculous as it is mysterious. Birth. Today, roughly one in three births in the United States occurs via cesarean section or C-section.

5 Nov 2020

Case study reports prolonged infectious SARS-CoV-2 shedding from an asymptomatic leukemia patient

The majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 appear to actively shed infectious virus for about 8 days, but there is a wide range of variability from person to person.

4 Nov 2020

Correlations found between 'long-COVID' patients and preexisting health conditions

Researchers from the nference (a biotech information firm) in Cambridge, MA, USA, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA, and nference Labs based in Bengaluru, India, recently performed a retrospective analysis of 266 COVID-19 patients.

4 Nov 2020

Synthetic antibody may prevent coronavirus from infecting human cells

By screening hundreds of synthetic antibodies, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and EMBL Hamburg in Germany have identified an antibody that may prevent the new coronavirus from infecting human cells.

4 Nov 2020

Researchers investigate the effect of palm oil extract on mice liver cells

Palm oil contains abundant quantities of vitamin E compounds, which include tocopherols and tocotrienols.These compounds have anti-oxidant effects, which protect cells from damage from toxic chemical produced by metabolic processes.

4 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 T-cell immunity is retained for at least six months

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv shows that functional SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses are retained for six months following infection. However, the strength of this response depends on the clinical features of the primary infection.

3 Nov 2020

Study finds a subset of quick COVID-19 healers and antibody 'sustainers'

One of the pressing questions about COVID-19 remains: How long does immunity last? One key indicator of immunity is the presence of virus-specific antibodies.

3 Nov 2020

Researchers to explore the role of gut microbes in childhood celiac disease

Boston College Assistant Professor of Biology Emrah Altindis has received a three-year, $300,000-grant from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation for research into childhood celiac disease.

3 Nov 2020

Some of the main osteoporosis treatments could have a protective effect against COVID-19

Some of the principal treatments for osteoporosis, denosumab, zoledronate and calcium, could have a protective effect against COVID-19 in patients who take them, specifically a 30 to 40% reduction in the rate of infection, according to the results of a joint study by Hospital del Mar, the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Pompeu Fabra University and the Pere Virgili Health Park.

3 Nov 2020

Study finds new clues for disarming antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A virus can stop bacteria from sharing genes for antibiotic resistance among themselves, Texas A&M AgriLife researchers have discovered. The results hint at new ways to treat infections and describe a new feature of a highly diverse, largely unexplored part of the biosphere.

3 Nov 2020

Beta-blockers could be used to treat COVID-19, study finds

Beta-blockers could potentially be used to treat COVID-19, according to a new international study by Italian and Australian scientists.

3 Nov 2020

Novel molecules show potential for future cancer therapies

Cancers sometimes escape our immune defenses because of the over-activity of molecular signaling systems, called checkpoint processes. Now we may be able to fight back using a new range of molecules, researchers in China report in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

3 Nov 2020

Immunotherapy side effect could signal improved control of kidney cancer

An autoimmune side effect of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) drugs could signal improved control of kidney cancer, according to a new study by researchers in UT Southwestern's Kidney Cancer Program (KCP).

2 Nov 2020

Study elucidates mechanisms behind protective farm effect on childhood asthma

Asthma impacts millions of children already at a young age. Children growing up on a farm have a lower risk of developing asthma than children not living on a farm.

2 Nov 2020

Study sheds new light on how the immune system remembers viruses

For a person to acquire immunity to a disease, T cells must develop into memory cells after contact with the pathogen.

2 Nov 2020

Hygiene hypothesis’ tested: Poorer water, sanitation associated with fewer COVID-19 deaths

Indian researchers from the formidable Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and two other top-notch institutes have put to test the "hygiene hypothesis" with a study suggesting that areas with high prevalence of infectious diseases are likely to see fewer COVID-19 deaths.

2 Nov 2020

Study reveals seven “forms of disease” in COVID-19

In a study recently published in the top journal "Allergy", a team of MedUni Vienna scientists led by immunologist Winfried F. Pickl and allergologist Rudolf Valenta (both from the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology) showed that there are seven "forms of disease" in COVID-19.

2 Nov 2020