Immune System News and Research

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Long-term opioid use in back-pain patients leads to production of anti-opioid antibodies

University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have discovered that a majority of back-pain patients they tested who were taking opioid painkillers produced anti-opioid antibodies.

19 Aug 2020

Novel gene editing approach removes latent herpes simplex virus 1

Infectious disease researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have used a gene editing approach to remove latent herpes simplex virus 1, or HSV-1, also known as oral herpes.

19 Aug 2020

Study shows how proteins act as a defense mechanism to protect their own DNA

Viruses usually inject their DNA into a host cell to multiply. As soon as this foreign material penetrates the intracellular fluid, it activates a defense mechanism called the cGAS-STING pathway.

18 Aug 2020

Study shows how viruses escape the immune system

Scientists from the University of Otago have gained a deeper understanding of how viruses work and escape the immune system. The team is presently using this finding to find out more about the COVID-19 pandemic.

18 Aug 2020

Protective anti-prion antibodies found in humans

Antibodies targeting the normal PrP version of the prion protein have been found in humans selected at random with no history of any associated transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

18 Aug 2020

Genome analysis helps identify 568 cancer driver genes

Analysis of the genomes of 28,000 tumors from 66 types of cancer has led to the identification of 568 cancer driver gene.

18 Aug 2020

Protein produced by nervous system may be the key to treating inflammatory diseases

A Rutgers-led team may have found the key to treating inflammatory diseases like asthma, allergies, chronic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

From Rutgers University 18 Aug 2020

Researchers identify a new gene to treat multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disease that affects the central nervous system and can eventually lead to muscle tremors and thus loss of balance.

17 Aug 2020

Study sheds light on genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in atopic dermatitis

The KIF3A gene contains common variants that raise the risk of a dysfunctional skin barrier and ultimately lead to a skin condition, called atopic dermatitis.

17 Aug 2020

Scientists discover gut bacteria’s role in battling cancerous tumors

Researchers with the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) have discovered which gut bacteria help our immune system battle cancerous tumors and how they do it.

14 Aug 2020

Triple-negative breast cancer's ecosystem reveals potential therapeutic targets

Researchers from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have uncovered four new subtypes of cells within triple-negative breast cancer, which contain promising new therapeutic targets for the aggressive disease.

13 Aug 2020

Study shows MARCH8 protein protects against infection through antiviral mechanisms

A protein known as MARCH8 protects humans from infection by tagging the vesicular stomatitis virus for destruction, while simply holding the HIV hostage.

12 Aug 2020

TB vaccine research could benefit older people with type 2 diabetes

A study of older mice with type 2 diabetes has yielded highly promising results for researchers investigating potential new vaccines for tuberculosis (TB).

11 Aug 2020

UC Riverside physicist receives NIH grant to study how pathogens evolve

For several years, physicist John Barton at the University of California, Riverside, has been working on developing models to understand and predict how pathogens, such as HIV, evolve. This research pursuit has just received support from the National Institutes of Health.

11 Aug 2020

Study shows how neurons communicate when confronted with stroke

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Ludmila Belayev, MD, LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Neuroscience, Neurology and Neurosurgery, has unlocked a key fundamental mechanism in the communication between brain cells when confronted with stroke.

7 Aug 2020

Study may point to new therapeutic options for COVID-19

Contrary to what has been generally assumed so far, a severe course of COVID-19 does not solely result in a strong immune reaction - rather, the immune response is caught in a continuous loop of activation and inhibition.

7 Aug 2020

Rutgers expert highlights the effects of climate change on allergies, autoimmunity and the microbiome

Climate change and disruption of the ecosystem have the potential to profoundly impact the human body. Xue Ming, professor of neurology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, who recently published a paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on the effects of climate change on allergies, autoimmunity and the microbiome -- the beneficial microorganisms that live on and inside the human body -- discusses how the delicate balance of the environment affects conditions such as allergies, autism and immune disorders.

6 Aug 2020