Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Researchers find role of Vpr protein in HIV infection

Dr. Éric A. Cohen, Director of the Human Retrovirology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), and his team published yesterday, in the online open-access journal PLos Pathogens, the results of their most recent research on the role of the Vpr protein in HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection and AIDS (acquired autoimmune deficiency syndrome).

3 Sep 2010

Research on immune system can develop new therapy for inflammation, tumors

In two closely related studies, two teams of Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered the underlying mechanisms that activate a type of immune cell in the skin and other organs. The findings may lead to the development of new therapies to treat inflammation, wounds, asthma, and malignant tumors.

3 Sep 2010

Researchers identify two proteins in cellular response to mechanical stimulation

Scripps Research Institute scientists have identified two proteins with potential to be important targets for research into a wide range of health problems, including pain, deafness, and cardiac and kidney dysfunction.

3 Sep 2010

iBio and CMB enter development and marketing collaboration with GE Healthcare

iBio, Inc., its development collaborator, Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB), and GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, today announced their entry into an agreement to jointly develop and globally market manufacturing solutions for biopharmaceuticals and vaccines based upon their respective proprietary technologies.

2 Sep 2010

Researchers clear hurdle on path toward gene-therapy treatment for disease

One of the most difficult aspects of working at the nanoscale is actually seeing the object being worked on. Biological structures like viruses, which are smaller than the wavelength of light, are invisible to standard optical microscopes and difficult to capture in their native form with other imaging techniques.

2 Sep 2010

Study links community violence with asthma hospitalizations, emergency department visits

Patients with asthma who are exposed to violence in their community are at an increased risk for an asthma-related hospitalization and emergency room visits for asthma or any cause, according to new research from the University Of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Exposure to community violence has been linked to more symptoms in pediatric asthma patients; however the new research adds to this finding with a longitudinal study showing a connection in an adult population and more than symptoms - actual emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

2 Sep 2010

Agensys commences AGS-16M8F ADC Phase I clinical trial for renal cancer

Agensys, Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., today announced that they have initiated a Phase I clinical trial of AGS-16M8F an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is being developed for the treatment of metastatic renal cancer. An ADC uses the specific binding properties of an antibody to target a toxin in tumor cells, resulting in selective tumor cell killing.

2 Sep 2010

CIHR announces recommendations on multiple sclerosis research priorities

On Thursday, August 26, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), in collaboration with the MS Society of Canada, convened a meeting of leading North American experts in multiple sclerosis (MS) to identify research priorities for Canada in this area.

2 Sep 2010

Parkinson’s disease discoveries

Genes that affect the immune system and link it to Parkinson’s disease have been uncovered. This paves the way for new drug development in Parkinson’s disease – a serious, degenerative disease of the nerves that leads to tremors and muscle stiffness and eventually complete loss of movements. There is currently no cure for PD.

31 Aug 2010

ECG-based screening for young footballers at risk of heart disease needs to be reviewed: Study

The screening process for young footballers at risk of heart disease needs to be re-evaluated. That is the conclusion of a recent study, which has shown that the common criteria used for assessment does not take into account the type and intensity of the exercise performed. The single most common cause of sudden death in competitive footballers is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - a disease that thickens the heart muscle without any obvious cause.

31 Aug 2010

TPP and University of Edinburgh collaborate on development of novel pre-clinical intellectual property

TPP Global Development Ltd (TPP) announced an agreement with the University of Edinburgh to collaborate on the development of novel pre-clinical intellectual property originated within the University.

31 Aug 2010

Scientists identify genetic basis to determine severity of allergic asthma in experimental models

Scientists have identified a genetic basis for determining the severity of allergic asthma in experimental models of the disease.The study may help in the search for future therapeutic strategies to fight a growing medical problem that currently lacks effective treatments, researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report in the Aug. 29 Nature Immunology.

30 Aug 2010

MCNA announces $2 million to launch HEAL program for childhood asthma management

The mold that spread like a rash across post-Katrina New Orleans did more than destroy homes - it made children with asthma sick. On the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, experts point to increased sensitivities to environmental asthma triggers as a risk for more severe asthma symptoms and attacks in hundreds of New Orleans children.

27 Aug 2010

Researchers identify molecule to slow down dysfunctional immune response in hemorrhagic shock

Researchers have isolated a molecule, small enough to be used as a drug, that can shut down a dysfunctional immune response that causes deadly hemorrhagic shock, results in delayed death of heart attack patients, promotes rejection of transplanted organs and destroys joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a paper published in Molecular Immunology.

27 Aug 2010

U-M researchers explore prevention measures, treatments for C. difficile infection

Clostridium difficile, a wily, familiar bacterium, causes a growing number of serious infections in U.S. hospitals and nursing homes. With a $7.5 million, five-year award from the National Institutes of Health, University of Michigan researchers plan to discover what factors in the microbe and in patients make C. difficile a formidable, costly problem.

27 Aug 2010

Research on myosin II protein can lead to novel treatment for memory disorders

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a mechanism that plays a critical role in the formation of long-term memory. The findings shed substantial new light on aspects of how memory is formed, and could lead to novel treatments for memory disorders.

26 Aug 2010

FDA grants LFB's recombinant anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody orphan drug status for CLL

The recombinant anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody produced by LFB Biotechnologies received orphan drug status for the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). This approval from the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development was granted on August 6th, 2010.

26 Aug 2010

Vitamin D may be effective in preventing allergies in patients cystic fibrosis, asthma

Vitamin D may be an effective therapy to treat and even prevent allergy to a common mold that can cause severe complications for patients with cystic fibrosis and asthma.

26 Aug 2010

3D MRI enhances visualization, displays fetal anatomy and diagnosing problems

Three-dimensional MRI is an emerging and useful technique for displaying fetal anatomy and diagnosing problems in the womb in a wide spectrum of clinical applications, according to Jeffrey C. Hellinger, M.D., a pediatric imaging specialist at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

26 Aug 2010

Continuous boosting of natural painkiller shuts down brain cell receptor response

ERepeatedly boosting brain levels of one natural painkiller soon shuts down the brain cell receptors that respond to it, so that the painkilling effect is lost, according to a surprising new study led by Scripps Research Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University scientists. The study has important implications for drug development.

25 Aug 2010

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Researchers find role of Vpr protein in HIV infection

Research on immune system can develop new therapy for inflammation, tumors

Researchers identify two proteins in cellular response to mechanical stimulation

iBio and CMB enter development and marketing collaboration with GE Healthcare

Researchers clear hurdle on path toward gene-therapy treatment for disease

Study links community violence with asthma hospitalizations, emergency department visits

Agensys commences AGS-16M8F ADC Phase I clinical trial for renal cancer

CIHR announces recommendations on multiple sclerosis research priorities

Parkinson’s disease discoveries

ECG-based screening for young footballers at risk of heart disease needs to be reviewed: Study

TPP and University of Edinburgh collaborate on development of novel pre-clinical intellectual property

Scientists identify genetic basis to determine severity of allergic asthma in experimental models

MCNA announces $2 million to launch HEAL program for childhood asthma management

Researchers identify molecule to slow down dysfunctional immune response in hemorrhagic shock

U-M researchers explore prevention measures, treatments for C. difficile infection

Research on myosin II protein can lead to novel treatment for memory disorders

FDA grants LFB's recombinant anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody orphan drug status for CLL

Vitamin D may be effective in preventing allergies in patients cystic fibrosis, asthma

3D MRI enhances visualization, displays fetal anatomy and diagnosing problems

Continuous boosting of natural painkiller shuts down brain cell receptor response

Immunology eBook

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology