Immune System News and Research

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UC San Diego Health launches serological tests to detect past exposure to novel coronavirus

Clinical laboratory physicians and scientists at UC San Diego Health have launched a pair of serological tests that will look for novel coronavirus antibodies -- evidence in persons tested that they have previously been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the viral cause of COVID-19, even if they never experienced tell-tale symptoms.

18 Apr 2020

McMaster researchers to study why some people are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2

Two McMaster University professors have received research funding to boost their work to identify COVID-19 infection rates and to understand why some people are more susceptible to the virus.

17 Apr 2020

New study raises red flags about strategy to block cancer drug resistance

Sooner or later, most cancer patients develop resistance to the very chemotherapy drugs designed to kill their cancer, forcing oncologists to seek alternatives.

17 Apr 2020

A promising antiviral drug to fight COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 patients in a clinical trial at Houston Methodist Hospital are responding quickly to the antiviral drug Remdesivir. The trial's criteria allows for the treatment of patients early in their clinical course and, in some cases, at times where they might have otherwise been intubated.

17 Apr 2020

Cancer immunotherapy can lead to inflammation of the heart muscle

Immunotherapy is a powerful weapon in the fight against cancer, but inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) is one of its most serious side effects.

17 Apr 2020

Cancer Research UK calls for mass Covid-19 testing to prevent unnecessary cancer deaths

Thousands of cancer patients in the UK have had their treatment stopped or delayed because of COVID-19, and with pressures mounting on the health service, Cancer Research UK calls for widespread testing to prevent unnecessary cancer deaths.*

17 Apr 2020

URMC launches new coronavirus study to examine immune response

The University of Rochester Medical Center is launching a new study to understand how the body's immune system responds to COVID-19, including if and when a person could be re-infected with the virus and whether some people have pre-existing immunity.

17 Apr 2020

Scientists predict how the novel coronavirus spreads in a typical household

A team of scientists recently carried out a study on the transmissibility of the virus in households. Simply put, they’re trying to predict how the virus spreads in a typical family: if one person gets sick, how many others get sick? How sick? How long would it take the family to recover? These are the practical questions this study tries to answer.

17 Apr 2020

Are overactive immune cells causing COVID-19-related deaths?

While the COVID-19 pandemic is devastating many regions, the world over, a new paper published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine in April 2020 describes the possibility that the critical or very severe cases of COVID-19 are due to the production of neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) due to hyperactivated immune cells.

16 Apr 2020

The benefits of breastfeeding during COVID-19 crisis

While the current coronavirus pandemic continues to affect all people, families will still give birth and bring new life into the world.

16 Apr 2020

Specialized proteins could soak up excess cytokines in COVID-19 patients

One of the defining features of Covid-19 is the excessive immune response that can occur in severe cases. This burst of immune overreaction, also called a cytokine storm, damages the lungs and can be fatal.

16 Apr 2020

Octapharma USA supports new COVID-19 clinical trial

Octapharma USA is supporting a new investigator initiated clinical trial led by George Sakoulas, M.D. of Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California focused on treating the most critical patients at the heart of the coronavirus pandemic, those experiencing respiratory failure who become ventilator dependent.

16 Apr 2020

Screening blood samples for COVID-19 using artificial intelligence

A promising new study published in the preprint online journal medRxiv in April 2020 shows the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for developing a patient classifier that can separate patients likely to be negative for COVID-19 from among a pool of suspected patients visiting an emergency room (ER).

15 Apr 2020

Bacterial metabolism of bile acids boosts generation of immune cells, study shows

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has discovered a novel means by which bacterial colonies in the small intestine support the generation of regulatory T cells--immune cells that suppress autoimmune reactions and inflammation.

15 Apr 2020

'Chaperone protein' protects against autoimmune diseases, mice study shows

Like a parent of teenagers at a party, Mother Nature depends on chaperones to keep one of her charges, the immune system, in line so that it doesn't mistakenly attack normal cells, tissues and organs in our bodies.

15 Apr 2020

Researchers decode how immune sensor plays role in defending cells against intruders

Until now, the immune sensor TLR8 has remained in the shadows of science. A research team led by the University of Bonn has now discovered how this sensor plays an important role in defending human cells against intruders.

15 Apr 2020

Chronic stress can influence the efficacy of radiation therapy, study suggests

Radiation is one of the oldest and most common therapies for cancer, and typically is delivered locally, or to specific targeted sites in the body.

15 Apr 2020

Discovery of T cells response spectrum could new shed light on immune diseases

The discovery that immune T cells have a spectrum of responsiveness could shed light on how our immune system responds to infections and cancer, and what goes wrong in immune diseases.

15 Apr 2020

Stray dogs possible origin of COVID-19 pandemic

After tracing coronavirus signatures in different species, a new research article published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution shows that stray dogs (more specifically dog intestines) may have acted as the origin of current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.

14 Apr 2020

Molecular pathway that controls immunosuppression in tumors identified

An active immune system plays an important role in stopping cancer progression by identifying tumor cells and targeting them for destruction. Any deviation in the normal activities of the immune system could lead to accelerated tumor growth.

14 Apr 2020