Attempts to boost the body’s antitumour immune responses can trigger a harmful inflammatory reaction called a cytokine storm. New insights into the mechanisms involved might help to prevent this problem. Many newly developed, potent cancer therapies aim to harness an immune response to target tumours1. However, a common problem with such immunotherapy approaches is the development of...
Category: <span>Immunology</span>
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Researchers extend effectiveness of immunotherapy to more lung cancer patients
Immunotherapy, the strategy for triggering the patient’s own immune system to attack cancer, is proving effective for more tumour types, although to varying degrees. In lung cancer, immunotherapy had proven to extend survival rates for only some variants of the disease. Now, an international clinical trial led by the oncologist Luis Paz-Ares has substantially increased...
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Tuberculosis survives by using host system against itself, study finds
In a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, scientists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) releases RNA into infected cells. This RNA stimulates the production of a compound known as interferon beta that appears to support the growth of the pathogen. Jeff Schorey talks...
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A new molecular player involved in T cell activation
When bacteria or viruses enter the body, proteins on their surfaces are recognized and processed to activate T cells, white blood cells with critical roles in fighting infections. During T-cell activation, a molecular complex known as the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) moves to a central location on the surface of the T-cell. Microtubules have several important...
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Newly identified T cells could play a role in cancer and other diseases
FINDINGS Researchers from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have identified a new type of T cell called a phospholipid-reactive T cell that is able to recognize phospholipids, the molecules that help form cells’ outer membranes. IMAGE: THIS IS UCLA CANCER RESEARCHER DR. RAM RAJ SINGH. CREDIT: COURTESY OF...
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Major breakthrough in quest for cancer vaccine
The idea of a cancer vaccine is something researchers have been working on for over 50 years, but until recently they were never able to prove exactly how such a vaccine would work. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Now, a team of researchers at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at Université de...
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Insider attacks: Purdue developing new treatment options for millions with autoimmune diseases
Living with an autoimmune disease can feel like an insider is attacking your body. An estimated 24 million people in the United States are affected by autoimmune diseases, a group of diseases in which the person’s immune system attacks part of the person’s own body. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Now, Purdue University researchers have developed...
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New immunotherapy improves MS symptoms
A world-first clinical trial of a new cellular immunotherapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) has improved symptoms and quality of life for the majority of patients. The treatment targets the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and is based on a theory formulated by University of Queensland and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) researcher Professor Michael Pender. This...
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FDA approves drug to treat rare immune disease
Gamifant is the first drug to be approved specifically for HLH. The drug’s efficacy was demonstrated in a clinical trial of 27 pediatric patients with suspected or confirmed primary HLH. Patients had refractory, recurrent, or progressive disease while being treated with conventional HLH therapy or were intolerant of conventional HLH therapy. Patients were a mean...
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Fecal transplant effective against immunotherapy-induced colitis
For the first time, transplanting gut bacteria from healthy donors was used to successfully treat patients suffering from severe colitis caused by treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, which includes two patients, suggests fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is worth investigating in clinical trials as...