Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Enzyme acts as a sensor to find the hiding spots of viruses

While some types of RNA viruses cloak themselves to hide inside a cell and create copies of themselves, a "detective enzyme" might be attuned to their whereabouts. A slight variation in their genomic code gives some people's cells the capacity to produce this sensor.

14 Aug 2021

Study finds four circulating miRNAs which could effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication

In a new study, Chen-Yu Zhang's group from Nanjing University presents a rather striking finding that four circulating miRNAs, which are high in healthy people and much lower in older people and diabetic patients, could effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication by directly targeting the S protein.

12 Aug 2021

Researcher receives $8.7 million to investigate the link between viral infections and memory disorders

More than half of the survivors of West Nile virus brain infections are left with memory disorders that make everyday tasks such as remembering the route from home to work challenging.

12 Aug 2021

Link between high-fat diet, gut microbiota and cardiovascular disease revealed

A high-fat diet disrupts the biology of the gut's inner lining and its microbial communities -; and promotes the production of a metabolite that may contribute to heart disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal Science.

12 Aug 2021

UC San Diego scientists develop new method to keep cultured cells healthy

Hematopoietic stem cells — the precursors to blood cells — have been notoriously difficult to grow in a dish, a critical tool in basic research.

12 Aug 2021

South Australian-developed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shows promise to prevent COVID-19 lung infection

A South Australian-developed SARS-CoV-19 vaccine is preparing to progress to the final stages of human clinical trials after early animal testing confirmed its safety and effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 lung infection.

12 Aug 2021

Two-arm molecule can deplete cancer-protecting cells to promote immune responses against tumors

A two-arm molecule can effectively deplete cancer-protecting cells inside tumors, allowing the immune system to fight off tumors without becoming overactive. The finding, published online in Science Translational Medicine, could lead to new types of cancer immunotherapies.

11 Aug 2021

Defective process in the development of RBCs may trigger lupus

The autoimmune disease lupus may be triggered by a defective process in the development of red blood cells (RBCs), according to a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

11 Aug 2021

Small NIH clinical trial shows that new monoclonal antibody can prevent malaria

One dose of a new monoclonal antibody discovered and developed at the National Institutes of Health safely prevented malaria for up to nine months in people who were exposed to the malaria parasite.

11 Aug 2021

Fine aerosols generated during talking, singing may play a major role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been thought to spread primarily when an infected person coughs or sneezes, but little is known about its transmissibility through activities such as breathing, talking, and singing.

11 Aug 2021

Potential new treatment for mast cell cancers reduces tumor size and prevents organ infiltration

A potential new treatment for mast cell cancers reduces the number of mast cells by "mutating" the messenger RNA (mRNA) before it can deliver instructions for manufacturing the gene responsible for cell proliferation.

10 Aug 2021

Pilot study assesses antibody response to third COVID-19 vaccine dose in kidney transplant recipients

A pilot study has begun to assess the antibody response to a third dose of an authorized COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in kidney transplant recipients who did not respond to two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

10 Aug 2021

Expert panel recommends standardized criteria to define placental SARS-CoV-2 infection

A panel of experts convened by the National Institutes of Health has recommended standardized criteria to define infection of the placenta with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

9 Aug 2021

New technique can be used to directly image atherosclerotic plaques

If heart attacks blared a warning signal, patients would have a better chance of avoiding them. That's the idea behind a new imaging technique developed by a Spartan-led team of researchers.

9 Aug 2021

Affinity maturation of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies make them more powerful and resistant to escape mutations

A new study in the journal Immunity shows in fascinating detail how antibodies elicited by this virus show affinity maturation, a process occurring by somatic hypermutation (SHM) in the lymphoid germinal centers, to become more specific in their recognition of antigens.

6 Aug 2021

University of Pittsburgh invests in Canopy Biosciences’ ChipCytometry instrument for spatial biology

Canopy Biosciences, a Bruker Company, today announced that the University of Pittsburgh will add ChipCytometry for high-plex single-cell spatial biology to its capabilities at the Unified Flow Core in the Department of Immunology

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 6 Aug 2021

Vaccinia-based COVID-19 vaccines confer immunity in hamster model

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv* by Kulkarni et al. (August 3, 2021), the potential of vaccinia virus-based vaccines expressing the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is examined in mice and Syrian hamsters. The findings report that the vaccine generates high titers of neutralizing antibodies with good activity towards SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

5 Aug 2021

New study examines B cell receptor repertoires in COVID-19 patients

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv* by Kim et al. (August 2, 2021), the B cell receptor repertoire of 1,060 COVID-19 patients is compared to that of an equal number of healthy volunteers in a novel manner, utilizing computational deep-learning-based protein embedding techniques, which demonstrate a resolution capable of tracking the changes in immunity in an individual over the course of infection.

5 Aug 2021

How does the mRNA/lipid nanoparticle platform promote protective adaptive immunity against SARS-CoV-2?

Modified mRNA combined with lipid nanoparticles may be beneficial in boosting adaptive immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Research led by Botond Z. Igyártó from Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology in Pennsylvania recently found that the lipid nanoparticles induce protective adaptive immune responses with antibody titers against lethal doses of the virus.

5 Aug 2021

Restoring cholesterol levels could be a new therapeutic approach for diseases linked to TDP-43 protein

Researchers in Singapore have discovered that brain cells cannot maintain the cholesterol-rich myelin sheath that protects and insulates neurons in the absence of a protein called TDP-43.

4 Aug 2021

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Enzyme acts as a sensor to find the hiding spots of viruses

Study finds four circulating miRNAs which could effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication

Researcher receives $8.7 million to investigate the link between viral infections and memory disorders

Link between high-fat diet, gut microbiota and cardiovascular disease revealed

UC San Diego scientists develop new method to keep cultured cells healthy

South Australian-developed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shows promise to prevent COVID-19 lung infection

Two-arm molecule can deplete cancer-protecting cells to promote immune responses against tumors

Defective process in the development of RBCs may trigger lupus

Small NIH clinical trial shows that new monoclonal antibody can prevent malaria

Fine aerosols generated during talking, singing may play a major role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Potential new treatment for mast cell cancers reduces tumor size and prevents organ infiltration

Pilot study assesses antibody response to third COVID-19 vaccine dose in kidney transplant recipients

Expert panel recommends standardized criteria to define placental SARS-CoV-2 infection

New technique can be used to directly image atherosclerotic plaques

Affinity maturation of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies make them more powerful and resistant to escape mutations

University of Pittsburgh invests in Canopy Biosciences’ ChipCytometry instrument for spatial biology

Vaccinia-based COVID-19 vaccines confer immunity in hamster model

New study examines B cell receptor repertoires in COVID-19 patients

How does the mRNA/lipid nanoparticle platform promote protective adaptive immunity against SARS-CoV-2?

Restoring cholesterol levels could be a new therapeutic approach for diseases linked to TDP-43 protein

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