Allergy News and Research

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The term allergy encompasses a wide range of conditions; it is not a disease in itself. In 1906 Clemens von Pirquet was the first to describe allergies as a changed or altered reaction of the immune system in response to exposure to foreign proteins. These days the term allergy – medically termed hypersensitivity, signifies an exaggerated reaction to foreign substances.

Yale Researchers Identify Gut-Linked Immune Cells in the Brain

Yale School of Medicine researchers have discovered, for the first time, specialized immune cells in the brains of mice and humans which may facilitate communication between the gut and brain.

29 May 2025

Study Reveals T Cell Plasticity as a Key Driver of Systemic Autoimmunity

After spending years tracing the origin and migration pattern of an unusual type of immune cell in mice, researchers have shown in a new study how activity of "good" microbes in the gut is linked to rheumatoid arthritis and, potentially, other autoimmune diseases.

5 May 2025

Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells in Gut Prevent Allergic Reactions to Food

The immune system must be able to rapidly target invaders such as viruses while avoiding innocuous stimuli, or allergies may develop.

15 Apr 2025

Genetic Variants Offer Clues to Targeted Asthma Treatments

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of genome regions containing thousands of genetic variants associated with asthma, but it's still not clear which variants have an actual causal link to the disease.

11 Apr 2025

Synthetic Microbiome Treatment Prevents C. difficile Infection in Mice

A synthetic microbiome therapy, tested in mice, protects against severe symptoms of a gut infection that is notoriously difficult-to-treat and potentially life threatening in humans, according to a team of researchers at Penn State.

4 Mar 2025

T Cells May Hold the Secret to Fighting Dengue Virus

Children who experience multiple cases of dengue virus develop an army of dengue-fighting T cells, according to a new study led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI).

25 Feb 2025

New Study Explains Why Flu Virus Forms Filaments

Influenza A virus particles strategically modify their shape becoming either spheres or larger filaments to enhance their ability to infect cells based on environmental conditions, according to a new study conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

11 Feb 2025

Scientists Uncover an Immune System Power Play Behind Bee Venom Allergy

Monash University scientists have identified an immune system power play behind serious bee venom allergy, which lands twice as many Australians in hospital emergency departments each year as snake or spider bites.

25 Jan 2025

Inflammasome Helps Block Malignancy in Blood Stem Cells

A group of immune proteins called the inflammasome can help prevent blood stem cells from becoming malignant by removing certain receptors from their surfaces and blocking cancer gene activity, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

17 Jan 2025

Multi-Site Effort to Understand Viral Influences on Human Health

For more than ten years, researchers have been investigating the microbiome, the ecosystem of microorganisms that inhabit the body, and its impact on health and disease.

10 Jan 2025

NIH Study Reveals Potent Antibodies for Malaria Prevention

A novel class of antibodies that binds to a previously untargeted portion of the malaria parasite could lead to new prevention methods, according to a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published today in Science.

6 Jan 2025

New Strategy Reinvigorates Exhausted T Cells to Fight Cancer

As cancer cells grow, they pump out metabolic byproducts such as lactic acid into the tumor microenvironment. Exhausted T cells -; which have lost their cancer-fighting oomph -; consume this lactic acid, which further saps their energy, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

11 Nov 2024

MIT Engineers Develop Model to Decode Complex Biological Systems

Over the past two decades, new technologies have helped scientists generate a vast amount of biological data. Large-scale experiments in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and cytometry can produce enormous quantities of data from a given cellular or multicellular system.

6 Nov 2024

Mast Cells Recruit Neutrophils in Immune Response

Mast cells are well-known for their part in allergic reactions, but the immune system relies heavily on them. They release chemicals in response to allergens, which cause common allergy symptoms like tissue swelling and inflammation.

5 Aug 2024

Swabbing Technique Reveals Diversity of Immune Cells in the Upper Airway

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have published the first-ever, in-depth analysis of immune cell memory in the upper airways of adult volunteers. Among these immune cells, the researcher spotted "tissue resident" memory cells, which stand ready to defend the airway from SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory diseases.

1 Aug 2024

Researchers Discover How Common Bacteria can Accelerate Wound Closure in Diabetics

There are many important reasons for keeping cuts and sores clean, but new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows that a certain bug, Alcaligenes faecalis (A. faecalis), can facilitate healing of hard-to-treat wounds among people with diabetes.

26 Jul 2024