Immune System News and Research

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Bacterial warfare in the gut can have collateral beneficial effects

Nearly ten years ago, a graduate student at UO Jennifer Hampton Hill stumbled upon something fortunate: a peptide produced by gut bacteria that prompted the division of cells that make insulin.

17 Oct 2022

Brain-resident and recruited macrophages exhibit diverging responses

Prof. Kiavash Movahedi (VUB, VIB) headed a group that outlined how the immune system responds to infections entering the brain. The results offer new information on host-pathogen interactions as well as the long-term effects of brain infections.

14 Oct 2022

Nonconducting W434F mutant varies in structure and conformation

Potassium (K+) channels are tiny, highly specialized conduits found in every live cell that transfer K+ ions in an exceedingly selective and quick manner across cell membranes.

13 Oct 2022

Broadening the scope of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing systems

A group of Northwestern University researchers has created a novel gene editing platform that might influence the future application of a nearly infinite library of CRISPR-based therapeutics.

7 Oct 2022

Genomics-informed pre-breeding strategy for wheat improvement

IPK Leibniz Institute was able to test its vast collection of old wheat varieties for their yield performance and resistance to yellow rust not only in the lab but also in field trials.

5 Oct 2022

Research team outlines three-step technique that lets human body defend against Hep B

A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has unraveled the precise operation of this defensive mechanism after finding a crucial protein complex that is active when our body is infected by the virus, paving the path for novel treatment targets.

5 Oct 2022

Carp virus provides significant insights into immunology

In an article published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, the team led by Prof. Alain Vanderplasschen, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Liège, describes 10 years of research on how a carp virus uses a protein domain called Zalpha (Zα) to inhibit the host cell’s defense mechanisms.

26 Sep 2022

Modified silk fibroin repels water

Tufts University scientists recently devised a technique to produce silk-based materials that do not stick to water, or almost anything else containing water.

26 Sep 2022

Rutgers researchers seek to develop technology for protein editing

Rutgers researchers are seeking to develop the technology to modify or "edit" protein molecules in the body-;an advance that could spur major breakthroughs in human health.

From Rutgers University 26 Sep 2022

New imaging technologies to evade immune responses of Candida albicans

Researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute have demonstrated how the common fungus Candida albicans evades immune responses using newly discovered imaging technologies. The researchers claim that this involves a fungus that can shape-shift in an “alien-like” manner to escape immune cells.

21 Sep 2022

New study supports bradykinin storm theory of COVID-19's viral pathogenesis

A new paper published in Nature Communications adds further evidence to the bradykinin storm theory of COVID-19's viral pathogenesis -; a theory that was posited two years ago by a team of researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

19 Sep 2022

Novel therapeutic treats B. anthracis infection without antibiotics

Anthrax-causing spores were mailed to news outlets and members of Congress during the “Amerithrax” strikes of 2001, inflicting at least 22 illnesses and leaving five people dead.

15 Sep 2022

Encouraging breakthroughs in eliminating therapy-resistant cancer cells

The human immune system is notably adept at evading tumor cells, which construct physical barriers, adopt masks, and restrain the immune system with molecular ploys.

14 Sep 2022

Studies highlight bacteria accelerate the leukemia development in mice through specific viruses

By helping with digestion, supplying nutrients and metabolites, and collaborating with the immune system to ward off pathogens, gut bacteria have a significant impact on health.

14 Sep 2022

Characterizing the transcription profile of microglia in a mouse model

Researchers from Tohoku University have now shown that the consolidation and extinction of contextual fear conditioning alter the microglial genes connected to the synapse—structures that permit neurons to communicate with one another.

13 Sep 2022

Antibiotics deplete intestinal flora and weaken the immune response

According to a recent study conducted by scientists at Emory University in Atlanta, the administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics in mice with malignant melanoma, an aggressive type of skin cancer, expedited their metastatic bone growth.

12 Sep 2022

Study insights suggest novel targets for anti-cancer therapies

According to a recent study, cancers can avoid both the immune system and cancer treatments that depend on it, including CAR T cells that have been genetically altered.

12 Sep 2022

New insight into how immune systems of stickleback fish respond to tapeworm parasite

Lugging around a tapeworm that's one third your body weight can be a real drag. So threespine stickleback fish evolved resistance to tapeworms-;but resistance has costs of its own, a team of researchers show in Science on 8 September.

9 Sep 2022

Researchers propose a way to identify Chlamydia, a deadly bacterial disease

Chlamydia, the most common bacterial infection associated with sexually transmitted diseases, hides inside human cells using a cloaking mechanism to avoid detection and destruction.

9 Sep 2022

Microbiomes can help cure food allergies in mice

Many people with dietary allergies may have minor symptoms when they consume foods that trigger them, but for some, the consequences could be lethal. In lab experiments, a bacterial chemical called butyrate produced by healthy microbiomes has shown promise in preventing allergy reactions, but it is unpleasant to consume.

23 Aug 2022