Drug target for asthma discovered
The over-active immune cells responsible for asthma depend on the gene BCL11B to develop into mature cells, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The identification of...
View ArticleHost, heal thyself: Immune system self-organizes to minimize biological cost...
(Medical Xpress)—The adaptive immune system – a subsystem of the overall immune system – comprises specialized cells and processes that eliminate or prevent pathogen growth by using the experience of...
View ArticleStudy explains how early childhood vaccination reduces leukemia risk
A team led by UCSF researchers has discovered how a commonly administered vaccine protects against acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of childhood cancer.
View ArticleInflammation stops the biological clock
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered an important link between our body clock and the immune system that will have relevance to the treatment of...
View ArticleAdults harbor lots of risky autoreactive immune cells, study finds
Decades' worth of textbook precepts about how our immune systems manage to avoid attacking our own tissues may be wrong.
View ArticleBody's 'serial killers' captured on film destroying cancer cells
A dramatic video has captured the behaviour of cytotoxic T cells - the body's 'serial killers' - as they hunt down and eliminate cancer cells before moving on to their next target.
View ArticleShining a new light on the immune system
Scientists at the University of St Andrews have developed a revolutionary method of identifying cells of the immune system with "molecular fingerprints" which could pave the way for the rapid detection...
View ArticleAnti-stroke drug effective treatment for middle-ear infections, researchers say
An existing anti-stroke drug is an effective treatment for middle-ear infections, showing the ability to suppress mucus overproduction, improve bacterial clearance and reduce hearing loss, according to...
View ArticleTpl2 enzyme may be target for treating autoimmune diseases
New research at the University of Georgia has found that the presence of Tpl2—an enzyme that regulates inflammation—controls the activation of T cells during colitis, an autoimmune disease that occurs...
View ArticleCooperation among viral variants helps hepatitis C survive immune system attacks
Warring armies use a variety of tactics as they struggle to gain the upper hand. Among their tricks is to attack with a decoy force that occupies the defenders while an unseen force launches a separate...
View ArticleScientists discover key to what causes immune cell migration to wounds
Immune cells play an important role in the upkeep and repair of our bodies, helping us to defend against infection and disease. Until now, how these cells detect a wounded or damaged site has largely...
View ArticleA new mechanism protecting the liver from dangerous inflammation
Life-threatening liver inflammation can be caused by excess alcohol, fatty foods, toxins, as well as viral, bacterial, and parasite infections. A study published on May 28th in PLOS Pathogens reports...
View ArticleResearchers create new combination vaccine to fight Streptococcus A
Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics has developed a groundbreaking, combination vaccine that may finally beat Streptococcus A infections.
View ArticleHow the tuberculosis bacterium tricks the immune system
Scientists at EPFL have discovered how the tuberculosis bacterium can trick the patient's immune cells to lower their defenses.
View ArticleMassage-like stroking has a positive effect on the immune system of mice
Queen Mary University of London researchers have found the action lowers the stress hormone, noradrenaline, resulting in increased T-cell development which plays an important role in immunity.
View ArticleStudy exposes how 'James Bond' cells are made
New research from Australian and Singaporean scientists has revealed how immune cell 'spies' are created, providing clues on how the immune system could be manipulated to better fight disease.
View ArticleResearchers discover molecular rules that govern autoimmune disorders
An international team led by researchers at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and California NanoSystems Institute has identified an unexpectedly general set of rules that...
View ArticleHow a gut feeling for infection programs our immune response
An unexpected finding by an international team of scientists based at The University of Manchester and National Institutes of Health in America has shed new light on how immune cells are programmed to...
View ArticleNew immunoregulation and biomarker
Clinicians at LMU have elucidated a mechanism involved in determining the lifespan of antibody-producing cells, and identified a promising new biomarker for monitoring autoimmune diseases like multiple...
View ArticleRare autoimmune disease may be more common than we thought
Mutations in a key autoimmunity-associated gene are surprisingly common and are responsible for a previously unknown form of a rare autoimmune disorder called APS-1, according to a study published on...
View ArticleReturning killer T cells back to barracks could improve vaccines
Just as militaries need to have trained, experienced soldiers ready for future wars, making sure that the immune system has enough battle-ready T cells on hand is important for fast-acting, more...
View ArticleNew approach to immunosuppression could avoid transplant organ rejection,...
A new study has identified how blocking a special set of molecules on the surface of T cells can suppress the heart's immune response – responsible for transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases such...
View ArticleKeeping a lid on inflammation
Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are part of the system of checks and balances that prevents the immune response from going overboard and causing autoimmune disease. Although critically important for...
View ArticleRestoring natural immunity against cancers
Scientists at the Institut Pasteur and Inserm have successfully increased the infiltration of immune cells into tumors, thus inducing the immune system to block tumor growth. In an article published in...
View ArticleSafeguarding against chlamydia: Vaccine generates double protection in animals
Chlamydia trachomatis is a formidable foe. It's the most common sexually transmitted pathogen, infecting more than 100 million people each year. In the developing world, chlamydial infection is the...
View ArticleHow to predict biphasic allergic reactions in children
Children are more likely to have a repeat, delayed anaphylactic reaction from the same allergic cause, depending on the severity of the initial reaction. The first pediatric study to look at the...
View ArticleCells too stiff to scavenge leads to lupus, an autoimmune disease
More than 50 billion cells die in the human body every day, a spectacle of programmed cell death called apoptosis. These cells undergo internal degradation and then fracture into apoptotic bodies that...
View ArticleWhen inflammation occurs, kidneys work to protect themselves, researchers find
In an apparent effort to help themselves, inflamed kidney cells produce one of the same inflammation-suppressing enzymes fetuses use to survive, researchers report.
View ArticleWhy 'exhausted' immune cells are bad news for infection, but good news for...
An 'exhausted' army of immune cells may not be able to fight off infection, but if its soldiers fight too hard they risk damaging the very body they are meant to be protecting, suggests new research...
View ArticleImmune response to a flu protein yields new insights into narcolepsy
An international team of researchers has found some of the first solid evidence that narcolepsy may be a so-called "hit-and-run" autoimmune disease.
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