Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Study investigates early biology of HIV infection

In July 2005, the race to find a vaccine that would stem the worldwide rate of 13,000 new cases of HIV infection each day moved from competition among research institutions to a strategy of cooperation.

2 May 2006

Method by which Caspase-12 shuts down the body's immune system discovered

Caspase-12 is a molecule with a death-wish. Found only in people of African descent, this protein shuts down our body's immune system, opening the door to potentially lethal infections. In a groundbreaking new study published in the prestigious journal Nature this week, the team that first discovered the role of caspase-12 in humans has now uncovered the mechanism by which it sabotages us, allowing researchers to develop methods to counter its damaging effects.

28 Apr 2006

Combinatorial approach found to reverse the onset of type 1 diabetes

A major finding, which represents an important step toward a potential cure for type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, has been made by a research team at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI). The team, led by Matthias von Herrath, M.D., an internationally recognized expert on the molecular basis of type 1 diabetes, used a combinatorial treatment approach in laboratory mice and found it reversed recent onset type 1 diabetes in the majority of animals tested.

28 Apr 2006

Protein made by cancer virus explains how the virus spreads

New research shows that a protein made by a cancer virus causes infected immune cells to cling to other immune cells, enabling the virus to spread.

26 Apr 2006

Caspase-12 antagonists could potentially be useful in the treatment of sepsis and other inflammatory and immune disorders

According to the new study, the presence of caspase-12, which appears to modulate inflammation and innate immunity in humans, increases the body's "vulnerability to bacterial infection and septic shock" while a deficiency confers strong resistance to sepsis. This new discovery suggests that caspase-12 antagonists could be a potentially useful in the treatment of sepsis and other inflammatory and immune disorders.

26 Apr 2006

Children of snorers, three times as likely to snore themselves

Children of parents who snore are three times more likely to snore themselves, according to a new study by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Furthermore, children who test positive for allergies are twice as likely to snore.

26 Apr 2006

Drug combo might beat type 1 diabetes

Scientists in California have developed a cocktail of drugs which can reverse diabetes and say the discovery is an important step towards a potential cure.

23 Apr 2006

miR 155 overexpression can lead to cancer

Scientists in the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center say that just one, single, malfunctioning microRNA is sufficient to cause cancer in mice.

18 Apr 2006

Researchers suggest drug could block metastasis or reduce pain for bone cancer patients

An international research team has identified what may be a critical molecule in the ability of tumours to metastasize -- or spread -- into bone.

13 Apr 2006

New approach to treating hepatitis C virus

Last year Peter Sarnow, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, identified a previously unknown mechanism that the hepatitis C virus uses to replicate, yielding a promising new approach to combating the disease-causing virus.

10 Apr 2006

Evidence of estrogen and progesterone hormone allergy discovered

Some women with menstrual cycle disorders like asthma and migraine headaches may be experiencing allergies to their own estrogen and progesterone hormones, Texas researchers have discovered.

4 Apr 2006

Novel approach to creating a vaccine to treat melanoma

A novel approach to creating a vaccine to treat melanoma has demonstrated promising effectiveness in a new laboratory study led by researchers at The Wistar Institute. About a third of melanoma patients might benefit from such a vaccine.

4 Apr 2006

Researchers reverse juvenile diabetes in animal model

Groundbreaking human clinical trial for type 1 diabetes to start this spring in Pittsburgh - Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC researchers reverse juvenile diabetes in animal model; Phase 1 clinical trial approved by FDA.

4 Apr 2006

Breakthrough in search for new anti-malarial drugs

Scientists at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia have made a significant discovery in the fight against malaria. Drexel researchers, along with a research group at the University of Washington, have determined a critical molecular structure of the cellular motor that allows the malaria parasite to invade human cells.

4 Apr 2006

New mouse model technology in cancer vaccine tool-box

Cancer vaccines are being investigated in early-phase clinical trials around the world, with many of those trials recruiting patients with melanoma.

4 Apr 2006

Researchers identify cell cue for destroying tumors

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified and characterized an important signal used by the human immune system to help destroy tumors.

4 Apr 2006

Inducing melanoma for cancer vaccine development

Cancer vaccines are being investigated in early-phase clinical trials around the world, with many of those trials recruiting patients with melanoma.

28 Mar 2006

Procedure cures some diabetic mice, but not in the way previously reported

Researchers attempting to reproduce a controversial 2003 mouse experiment suggestive of a cure for type 1 diabetes have found evidence that the experimental procedure does eliminate diabetic symptoms in a small fraction of the mice exposed to it.

28 Mar 2006

Researchers find compound 10 times more effective than isoniazid, the leading anti-tuberculosis drug

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have synthesized chemicals that are up to 10 times more effective than isoniazid, the leading anti-tuberculosis drug.

28 Mar 2006

Gene therapy treatment for brain tumours and infections

In a study published in the March 15 issue of The Journal of Immunology, researchers at Board of Governors' Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have developed a way to overcome immune privilege in the brain to eradicate potentially deadly brain tumors such as glioblastoma multiforme and other types of brain infections.

27 Mar 2006