Immune System News and Research

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Prostate cancer 'super responders' could live for two years or more on immunotherapy

Some men with advanced prostate cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options could live for two years or more on immunotherapy, a major clinical trial has shown.

27 Nov 2019

New compound may enhance dengue vaccine efficacy by simulating amino acid deficiency

A new study published in the journal Science Signaling on November 26, 2019, describes a mouse experiment, in which the immune response to the dengue vaccine was boosted when the mice were first given halofuginone, a plant compound that is well known to herbalists.

27 Nov 2019

Scientists sheds light on small protein and its role in immune response

The immune system is the body’s defense against disease-causing pathogens. It works by warding off disease and potentially-damaging foreign bodies. Now, a team of researchers have developed a new method to shed light on the basic defense mechanism of the immune system.

27 Nov 2019

Researchers develop new strategy for treating the most aggressive type of brain cancer

Researchers from the University of São Paulo in Brazil have developed a strategy for treating the most aggressive type of brain cancer in adults that combines a photoactive molecule and a chemotherapeutic agent - both encapsulated in protein-lipid nanoparticles.

27 Nov 2019

Breast milk could play vital role in preventing heart disease in premature infants

Early use of breast milk could play a vital role in preventing heart disease in prematurely born infants, according to a paper led by researchers at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) and the Rotunda Hospital.

27 Nov 2019

What protects killer T cells from accidental death?

White blood cells, which release a toxic potion of proteins to kill cancerous and virus-infected cells, are protected from any harm by the physical properties of their cell envelopes, find scientists from UCL and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.

27 Nov 2019

Attacking HIV at the source

A new study published on November 26, 2019, in the journal Cell Reports, details a new discovery that may help avert HIV infection right at the start. The virus is known to take a long time to infect a person, and the scientists say they have found a period during which it can be weakened or killed, in the very first hours after it has entered a host. They call this the window of vulnerability.

26 Nov 2019

Looking for the source: new routes for allergy treatment

A new multinational study has reported a very full account of the B lymphocytes that produce group E antibodies, also called IgE (Immunoglobulin E), that are behind allergic reactions, which are common in up to a third of the world’s population.

26 Nov 2019

Research shows how gut microbes affect stomach flu

A new study shows that gut microbes can modulate the severity of norovirus infection (the stomach flu, or the winter vomiting bug), based on the gut location first affected. Published in the journal Nature Microbiology on November 25, 2019, the study indicates new possibilities to treat norovirus infection.

26 Nov 2019

Space travel can affect intestinal function of astronauts

Bacteria, fungi, and viruses can enter our gut through the food we eat. Fortunately, the epithelial cells that line our intestines serve as a robust barrier to prevent these microorganisms from invading the rest of our bodies.

26 Nov 2019

Targeting molecular mechanisms could be beneficial in diabetic wound care

When our skin is damaged, a whole set of biological processes springs into action to heal the wound. Now, researchers from the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research have shown that one of the molecules involved in this, HMGB1, slows down wound healing.

26 Nov 2019

New way to thwart HIV infection at early stages

1.7 million. That's how many people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each year worldwide. 1.7 million people who are condemned to lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) or risk developing fatal AIDS . Out of the 37.9 million people living with HIV (PLWH), 22.3 million have access to ART, allowing them to have an almost normal lifespan.

26 Nov 2019

Key mechanism identified for how antiviral immune responses reprogram liver metabolism

Researchers at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences identified a key mechanism for how antiviral immune responses reprogram liver metabolism. Their recent study, which was published in the renowned scientific journal Immunity, investigated the communication between inflammation and liver metabolism during chronic viral infection.

26 Nov 2019

Newly developed personalized vaccine system could delay onset of pancreatic cancer

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Zhengzhou University have developed a personalized vaccine system that could ultimately delay the onset of pancreatic cancer. The study provides strong proof-of-concept for the creation of a vaccine for cancer prevention in individuals at high risk of developing this disease and to slow down tumor growth in patients who are affected by it.

26 Nov 2019

New method to separate two variants of common herpes virus linked to multiple sclerosis

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new method to separate between two different types of a common herpes virus that has been linked to multiple sclerosis.

26 Nov 2019

Gut microbes can tamp down or boost the severity of norovirus infection

The highly contagious norovirus causes diarrhea and vomiting and is notorious for spreading rapidly through densely populated spaces, such as cruise ships, nursing homes, schools and day care centers. Each year, it is responsible for some 200,000 deaths, mostly in the developing world.

25 Nov 2019