Immunology News and Research

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Immunology is the study of the body's immune system.

Promising drug targets identified for aggressive forms of cancers

Scientists have largely been producing transcriptomic data in an attempt to find clues about modified cellular pathways that may be fueling cancer behavior.

5 Mar 2021

Three new COVID-19 variants can evade antibodies that act against original virus

New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that three new, fast-spreading variants of the virus that cause COVID-19 can evade antibodies that work against the original form of the virus that sparked the pandemic.

5 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 can make itself unrecognizable to immune response by T-killer cells through mutations

The body's immune response plays a crucial role in the course of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to antibodies, the so-called T-killer cells, are also responsible for detecting viruses in the body and eliminating them.

5 Mar 2021

Study shows causal relationship between neonatal antibody production and mother's microbiota

A healthy system of gut bacteria, or microbiota, is crucial to health: Gut bacteria not only aid with digestion, but also play an important role in the body's immune response. Infants, however, are not born with full-fledged gut microbiota, which makes it difficult for them to fight off intestinal infections.

4 Mar 2021

Scientists map previously unknown metabolic pathways to produce memory T cell

Immunologists have plotted a previously unfamiliar biological pathway through which the immune system produces T cells that destroy viruses.

26 Feb 2021

Genes inherited from parents are responsible for severe COVID-19

For the first time, scientists have discovered the genetic predisposition of severe COVID-19 disease.

24 Feb 2021

Study identifies how CTLA-4 blockade can disable suppressive immune cells to aid tumor destruction

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a novel mechanism by which a type of cancer immunotherapy known as CTLA-4 blockade can disable suppressive immune cells to aid the destruction of certain tumors.

18 Feb 2021

Research links blood-clotting protein with CNS B-cell lymphoma growth

In people with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, cancerous B cells--a type of white blood cell--accumulate to form tumors in the brain or spinal cord, often in close proximity to blood vessels.

18 Feb 2021

Tumor microenvironment could improve cancer immunotherapy

A study has revealed how chemicals surrounding tumors, the tumor microenvironment, undermine the immune system and allow cancer to resist attack.

From University of Pittsburgh 16 Feb 2021

New understanding of tumor microenvironment could help enhance immunotherapy

A paper published today in Nature shows how chemicals in the areas surrounding tumors--known as the tumor microenvironment--subvert the immune system and enable cancer to evade attack. These findings suggest that an existing drug could boost cancer immunotherapy.

From University of Pittsburgh 16 Feb 2021

Animal model yields important insights into T cell exhaustion

T lymphocytes, or T cells, are an important component of our immune system. They can recognize foreign proteins, so-called antigens, as peptide fragments - for instance, those derived from viruses or cancer cells.

15 Feb 2021

Seasonal human coronavirus antibodies not associated with protection against SARS-CoV-2

Past exposure to seasonal coronaviruses (CoVs), which cause the common cold, does not result in the production of antibodies that protect against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to a study led by Scott Hensley, PhD, an associate professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

11 Feb 2021

Mast Cells: High-speed messengers of the immune defense

In order to fight pathogens, mast cells regulate inflammatory reactions of the immune system.

10 Feb 2021

Brain protein that causes Alzheimer's also protects against the disease

Findings from a new study on Alzheimer's disease could eventually help clinicians identify people at the highest risk for developing the progressive brain disorder.

10 Feb 2021

Certain coronaviruses steal hosts’ genes to evade their immune system

Certain coronaviruses can add some genes, that belong to the host they infected, to their genetic pool. In this manner, they can merge and be less noticeable in the immune system.

9 Feb 2021

Fecal microbiota transplant helps cancer patients respond to immunotherapy

For patients with cancers that do not respond to immunotherapy drugs, adjusting the composition of microorganisms in the intestines--known as the gut microbiome--through the use of a stool, or fecal, transplants may help some of these individuals respond to the immunotherapy drugs, a new study suggests.

From National Cancer Institute (NCI) 5 Feb 2021