by Washington University School of Medicine Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The brain constantly engages in dialogue with the body’s immune system. Such communication appears aimed at ensuring a delicate balance between defending against injury and infection and guarding healthy tissue. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have revealed how the two...
Category: <span>Immunology</span>
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Studies pinpoint immune cells and proteins linked to long COVID
by Don Bell, University of Alberta Graphical abstract. Credit: Journal of Autoimmunity (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2024.103267 Researchers at the University of Alberta have pinpointed two proteins that could serve as markers for identifying patients with long COVID—a discovery that may lead to treatments that will bring better quality of life for the millions of people suffering from the debilitating...
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Mouse study sheds light on the secret to maintaining a youthful immune system
by Keck School of Medicine of USC Adaptive immune cells, such as B cells (pictured), are a key component of a youthful immune system. Credit: National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases What keeps some immune systems youthful and effective in warding off age-related diseases? In a new paper published in Cellular & Molecular Immunology, USC Stem Cell scientist Rong...
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Among allergic conditions, food allergy found to have highest risk of developing eosinophilic esophagitis
by American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a disorder of the esophagus, is increasingly recognized as a major cause of swallowing difficulties in children and adults. It affects about one in 2,000 people and is part of a spectrum of allergic conditions. A study presented at this year’s...
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How vitamin D deficiency can lead to autoimmune diseases
by Keila DePape, McGill University Reduced thymic cellularity and altered T cell development in CypKO mice. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm9582 As Canadians brace for “vitamin D winter”—months when the sun’s angle is too low to produce the vitamin in the skin—a McGill University study explains why vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with a...
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Research highlights enzyme’s therapeutic potential in managing immune-related disorders
Eric Sundberg, lead author on the study and a biochemistry researcher at Emory University’s School of Medicine. Credit: Emory University Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies block communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles. It can cause double vision, difficulty swallowing, and, occasionally, serious breathing...
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Here’s why B cells benefit from booster shots
October 3, 2024 by Rockefeller University Recall germinal centers formed in response to a secondary infection generate a second line of defense, rebuffing memory B cells in favor of training naive ones. Credit: Rockefeller UniversityCertain infectious diseases, such as COVID or the flu, evolve constantly, shapeshifting just enough to outmaneuver our immune systems and reinfect...
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Study demonstrates that mpox vaccine antibody responses wane within a year
October 3, 2024 by Jacqueline Mitchell, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Mpox Virus Particle Colorized transmission electron micrograph of an mpox virus particle (yellow and red) found within an infected VERO E6 cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID/CC0 Public DomainA...
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Researchers propose a new treatment for brain metastasis based on immunotherapy
October 2, 2024 by The Spanish National Cancer Research Centre Cells around a brain metastasis in an animal model: several brain cells (astrocytes, white) surround an immune system cell (lymphocyte, green). Some of them have started to activate the factor (red) inducing molecule TIMP1, which will enable them to disable the action of the lymphocyte...
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Immunotherapy for gum disease? Study in mice shows promise
September 30, 2024 by University of Pittsburgh Microparticles containing the immune-modulating compound CCL2. Credit: Julie Kobyra, University of PittsburghTargeting the immune system could prevent or treat periodontal disease (PD), a common but serious disease of the gums, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy...