Immune System News and Research

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Protein dynamics can help fight bacterial infections

When pathogenic bacteria infect, the body’s immune system attempts to remove these invaders. One method to do this is to trigger an inflammatory response.

10 Jun 2020

Immune system could be 're-trained' to stop attack of healthy cells, study finds

The body's immune system can be re-wired to prevent it from recognizing its own proteins which, when attacked by the body, can cause autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, a significant new study by UK scientists has found.

10 Jun 2020

Cellular mechanophenotyping may help better understand tumor cells

Our ability to predict who will get cancer, how a patient will respond to treatment, or if a patient will relapse is still quite limited. Despite advances in the detection of genetic mutations and the establishment of risk factors, such as age and genetic variants, it remains a great scientific and medical challenge.

10 Jun 2020

Researchers identify a new subset of cells involved in immune response against hepatitis B

For the first time, researchers at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research have identified and described a new and unique subset of human cells that are involved in the immune response against hepatitis B (HBV) infection. The discovery could help develop new treatments for HBV and inform future vaccine design.

10 Jun 2020

Understanding protein-coding gene's role in IBD

A protein-coding gene associated with autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively referred to as inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, will be the focus of new research in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside.

9 Jun 2020

Study shows how a fat cell's immune response exacerbates obesity

When obesity occurs, a person's own fat cells can set off a complex inflammatory chain reaction that can further disrupt metabolism and weaken immune response--potentially placing people at higher risk of poor outcomes from a variety of diseases and infections, including COVID-19.

8 Jun 2020

Fate-seq technique shows structural differences between COVID-19 and SARS viruses

Scientists have discovered certain segments of the genetic codes of the SARS and COVID-19 viruses that may support the lifecycle of the viruses.

4 Jun 2020

Dramatic increase in immune cells in mouse lungs after birth may help protect against infections

An explosion in the number and types of immune cells in the lungs of newborn mice likely helps them adapt to breathing and protects them from infection, says a new study published today in eLife.

3 Jun 2020

Researchers discover how cancer cells protect themselves from viruses

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have uncovered how cancer cells protect themselves from viruses that are harmful to tumors but not to healthy cells. These findings could lead to improved viral treatments for the disease.

2 Jun 2020

New technology can help map immune cells in different types of brain tumors

Removing a malignant brain tumor is a balancing act between protecting the healthy tissue and, at the same time, excising as much tumor tissue as possible.

1 Jun 2020

Study identifies potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A joint research team led by Sunney Xie, Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University has successfully identified multiple highly potent neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of the respiratory disease COVID-19, from convalescent plasma by high-throughput single-cell sequencing.

29 May 2020

Chicken cells show promise for producing more effective human antibodies

Antibodies meant for potential drug applications can be produced quickly in chicken cells cultured in laboratories.

29 May 2020

Returning to the wild to better our immune health

Research has found that revegetation of green spaces within cities can improve soil microbiota diversity towards a more natural, biodiverse state.

28 May 2020

The eye launches an immune response in the lens following injury

The lens of the eye is an unusual organ. Unlike most of the body's organs, blood vessels don't reach the lens. If they did, they'd obscure our vision and we wouldn't be able to see. The lack of vasculature led scientists to believe immune cells, which travel via the bloodstream, couldn't get to this part of the body either.

27 May 2020

Pre-existing genes can promote metastasis

Cancer can sometimes remain dormant, but it usually metastasizes and spreads to new sites in the body.

27 May 2020

Compounds in Brazilian shrub can reduce the virulence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Researchers have discovered that the Brazilian peppertree—an invasive, weedy shrub found in Florida—contains specific compounds that lower the virulence of Staphylococcus bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

25 May 2020

A 'Switch' That Turns Autoimmunity Drugs Into Powerful Anti-Cancer Treatments

Scientists have discovered a way to transform antibody drugs into antibodies with powerful anti-cancer activity through a simple molecular "switch".

22 May 2020

X-ray experiments reveal antibody to block entry of SARS-CoV-2

As scientists across the globe race to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, an international team led by Davide Corti at Vir Biotechnology and David Veesler at the University of Washington has been working around the clock on a complementary approach - identifying neutralizing antibodies that could be used as a preventative treatment or as a post-exposure therapy.

20 May 2020

MicroRNAs play a key role in regulating the function of immune cells

According to a recent study, the ability of the immune system to mobilize specialized cells to fight against infections depends partly on small molecules.

19 May 2020