Immune System News and Research

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Mother's prenatal psychological distress is linked to infant gut microbes

Mother's chronic prenatal psychological distress and elevated hair cortisol concentrations are associated with gut microbiota composition of the infant, according to a new publication from the FinnBrain research project of the University of Turku, Finland.

23 Jun 2020

ILC Therapeutics announces research partnership with University of St Andrews to fight against COVID-19

UK-based biotechnology firm ILC Therapeutics has announced a research partnership with the University of St Andrews in a bid to progress a therapeutic drug which can treat COVID-19 towards clinical trials.

23 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 induces broad T cell response in recovering patients

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 shows that T cell responses in COVID-19 patients are broader and more robust in severe disease and are explicitly directed against spike, memory, and ORF3a proteins.

23 Jun 2020

Research shows females use anti-inflammatory T cells to maintain their blood pressure

In the face of a multipronged front to drive blood pressure up, including a high-salt diet, females are better able to keep their pressure down by increasing levels of a T cell that selectively dials back inflammation, scientists say.

23 Jun 2020

Scientists find COVID-19 antibodies fade quickly

Now, a new study shows that the levels of antibodies found in recovered coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients declined sharply in just two to three months after infection for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

23 Jun 2020

UTHealth tests arthritis drug's effect on COVID-19-induced cytokine storm

A drug is being studied for its effectiveness in treating a type of severe immune overreaction seen in patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

22 Jun 2020

Manipulating macrophages could be a viable strategy for treating cancer

Most traditional cancer therapies target either the tumor cells themselves or indiscriminately kill any rapidly dividing cell.

22 Jun 2020

Novel vaccine platform against COVID-19 based on engineered human mesenchymal stem cells

In a recent groundbreaking bioRxiv paper, Chinese researchers describe a novel approach towards coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine design based on engineered human mesenchymal stem cells, with favorable and promising antibody response.

22 Jun 2020

Dust mite allergens activate well-known inflammatory factor to trigger allergies

A research team at MedUni Vienna, working in cooperation with the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, has discovered how certain dust mite allergens activate a well-known inflammatory factor - serum amyloid A protein -and can thus "trim" the lung tissue "in the direction of allergy".

22 Jun 2020

The role of brain cells in spreading HIV

Dr. Lena Al-Harthi speaks to News-Medical about her research into HIV treatment and the role of brain cells in spreading the HIV virus.

22 Jun 2020

Tumor cell–based vaccine may prevent relapse of mantle cell lymphoma

A phase I/II clinical trial by researchers at Stanford University suggests that vaccines prepared from a patient's own tumor cells may prevent the incurable blood cancer mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) from returning after treatment.

22 Jun 2020

GlobalData: Further research into MIS-C could reveal how COVID-19 affects the immune system

Some children have developed a severe inflammatory response due to COVID-19 infection that appears similar to Kawasaki disease.

22 Jun 2020

Synthetic peptide could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Ligandal, one of the world’s leading genetic medicine companies, has modeled a synthetic peptide that could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

22 Jun 2020

Scottish biotech Invizius seeks Series A funding for breakthrough in dialysis treatment

Scottish biotech firm Invizius, which has developed a technology aimed at reducing long-term side effects and health complications from dialysis treatment, is seeking Series A funding after undergoing promising safety trials.

22 Jun 2020

MMR vaccine could offer protection against COVID-19

Administering the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine could serve as a preventive measure to dampen septic inflammation associated with COVID-19 infection, say a team of experts in this week's mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

19 Jun 2020

Viruses can steal genetic signals from hosts to expand their own genomes

Like a scene out of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," a virus infects a host and converts it into a factory for making more copies of itself.

19 Jun 2020

How an ignored white blood cell may cause COVID-19 deaths

News-Medical speaks to Professor Lola Eniola-Adefeso about her research investigating how an ignored white blood cell may cause COVID-19 deaths.

19 Jun 2020

Researchers find prothrombotic antibodies in patients with COVID-19

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, researchers are still trying to understand the many ways in which it can manifest and its pathogenesis. A new report published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 shows that one possible mechanism of disease in COVID-19 is the production of antiphospholipid antibodies.

19 Jun 2020

Human trials to commence using SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from cow's blood

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a sense of urgency as it actively spreads across the globe. The number of reported cases has now surpassed 8.46 million people, with a death toll of more than 453,000. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop an effective treatment and vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

19 Jun 2020

Nanosponges attract coronavirus away from lung cells, study shows

Imagine if scientists could stop the coronavirus infection in its tracks simply by diverting its attention away from living lung cells? A new therapeutic countermeasure, announced in a Nano Letters study by researchers from Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories and the University of California San Diego, appears to do just that in experiments that were carried out at the NEIDL in Boston.

18 Jun 2020