Although immunotherapy is seen as a very promising treatment for cancer, currently only 20 to 30 percent of patients respond positively. Being able to identify the people most likely to benefit from the costly therapy is a Holy Grail for oncologists. Histopathology of Helicobacter pylori infection in a gastric foveolar pit demonstrated in endoscopic gastric...
Category: <span>Immunology</span>
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Catch-up HPV vaccine effective for women aged up to 20 years, US study suggests
US study confirms effectiveness of quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in women aged up to 20 years who receive all three doses, but more research is needed in women aged 21-26 years. Electron micrograph of a negatively stained human papilloma virus (HPV) which occurs in human warts. Credit: public domain For women aged 14-20 years, catch-up HPV...
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The ghost of influenza past and the hunt for a universal vaccine
Your first bout of flu may determine how you fare during the next pandemic. That’s why scientists are trying to understand immunologic imprinting. Police in Seattle, Washington, wear masks to protect themselves during the 1918 flu pandemic that killed nearly 50 million people. Credit: National Archives/Time Life/Getty By the time she is about three years...
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When the Body Attacks Itself
New research shows how the immune system’s interaction with viruses leads to autoimmune disease Viral infections can trigger the onset of debilitating autoimmune diseases. For example, in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), the body attacks a protein that protects nerves in the brain and spinal cord, often following a viral infection. However, how viral infections interact...
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Turning off protein could boost immunotherapy effectiveness on cancer tumors
Researchers at the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center discovered inhibiting a previously known protein could reduce tumor burdens and enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments. In order to investigate the role of the Yes-associated protein, or YAP, in T-cells in the cancer setting, scientists used mice genetically engineered to lack YAP in several...
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Study elucidates epigenetic mechanisms behind autoimmune diseases
A group of researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil used a DNA editing tool called CRISPR/Cas9 to manipulate the genes associated with the autoaggressive T lymphocytes responsible for inducing autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APS-1) and type 1 diabetes. Immunofluorescence image of mTECs, with cell nucleus highlighted in blue...
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Could vaccine for a common virus stop multiple sclerosis? Doctors think they have discovered the cause of disease
Multiple sclerosis is triggered when the immune system attacks the nerves It develops after two common infections which cause the body to attack itself Doctors think vaccine against one of the viruses may be key to future MS prevention A vaccine for avoiding multiple sclerosis has moved a step closer, as doctors believe they have...
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Aggressive immune cells aggravate Parkinson’s disease
July 20, 2018, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Parkinson’s disease, formerly referred to as “shaking palsy,” is one of the most common disorders affecting movement and the nervous system. Medical researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have reported a possible cause of the disease in the immune system. The scientists have published their research findings in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein...
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New findings suggest allergic responses may protect against skin cancer
The components of the immune system that trigger allergic reactions may also help protect the skin against cancer, suggest new findings. Image: Human skin cancer cells (blue) with IgE antibody Bound to them (red). Credit: Imperial College LondonThe research, led by Imperial College London, highlights previously unknown skin defences—and could open avenues for developing new skin cancer...
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The immune system: T cells are built for speed
At TU Wien, immune cells are being examined using special microscopic methods, and this is causing previous ideas about the surface of T cells to be rethought. VIENNA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Without T cells, we could not survive. They are a key component of our immune system and have highly sensitive receptors on their surface...