In a study of proteins historic in its scope, researchers at Oregon State University have pushed closer both to a vaccine for gonorrhea and toward understanding why the bacteria that cause the disease are so good at fending off antimicrobial drugs. Credit: CDC The findings, published in Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, are especially important since...
Category: <span>Immunology</span>
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How salt can trigger inflammation in multiple sclerosis
Researchers at Yale have identified a high-salt environment as one of the contributing factors to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). In a new study published Oct. 29 in the journal Nature Immunology, they report just how salt can trigger the potentially disabling autoimmune disorder. Credit: CC0 Public Domain First author Tomokazu Sumida, a researcher...
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Mouse study suggests vaccine strategy for immunocompromised patients
A study led by Som Nanjappa at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine identifies a cellular target that may improve efficacy in vaccines designed to protect immunocompromised individuals from potentially deadly opportunistic infections. The study, conducted in a mouse model and recently published in the Journal of Immunology, shows that a protein important...
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New approach to Cancer Immunotherapy overcomes toxicity hurdle
In an effort to develop more effective cancer treatments, scientists are looking for therapies that supercharge patients’ immune systems. One possibility is to use antibodies that activate CD40, an immune-cell protein that, when triggered, prompts the rest of the immune system to spring into action. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Though promising, drugs that target CD40...
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Cytokine levels could predict autoimmune reactions to cancer Immunotherapy
The development of immunotherapy, which mobilizes the body’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells, is one of the greatest advances in cancer treatment, but immunotherapy can cause harm to healthy tissue in some patients. Researchers at UT Southwestern have identified blood-based biomarkers that may help identify those patients at greatest risk of developing autoimmune...
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Cell-compressing technique a new path in Immunotherapy
Cell-based immunotherapies, which often involve engineering cells to activate or suppress the immune system, have delivered some dramatic results to cancer patients with few other options. But the complex process of developing these therapies has limited a field that many believe could be a powerful new frontier in medicine. To engineer cell functions, SQZ Biotech uses tiny...
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Specific CD8 T cell states may indicate response to immune checkpoint therapy for melanoma
A multi-institutional research team, led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, has identified specific states of cytotoxic CD8 T cells that are associated with patient response to checkpoint immunotherapy for melanoma. Their report published in the journal Cell also identifies specific marker proteins associated with these...
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Protein found in patients with severe asthma can help identify who would benefit from targeted drugs
In a novel study, researchers succeeded in identifying patients with a form of severe asthma (type 2 endotype) by measuring periostin concentrations in their airways. These patients with the type 2 (T2) endotype may benefit from newly developed targeted treatments that have the potential to transform their quality of life, report researchers in the journal...
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Chemotherapy drug paclitaxel also acts as an immune response modulator
Trends The ER is a key organelle in cell physiology, and it evolved as an elaborated signaling pathway to cope with life-threatening perturbations of its homeostatic state. This process, called the UPR, is exploited by cancer cells to survive in their microenvironment and to promote tumor progression. Many approaches have been investigated to inhibit or...
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Curing diseases with good bacteria
Researcher from the Institute of Biology, Leiden have discovered how good intestinal bacteria regulate our innate immune system. This surprising discovery could make it possible to treat diseases related to inflammation, such as diabetes and colitis, with a cocktail of good bacteria. Publication in Nature Communications. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Why bad bacteria are bad for...