Muscle aches and pains, whether from stretching, strenuous exercise or just normal wear and tear, can put a crimp in your day, a limp in your step and be an actual pain in the neck. But no matter the severity, stem cells in the skeletal muscles called satellite cells play a key role in repairing...
Category: <span>Immunology</span>
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Size matters when fighting cancer, study finds
Killer T cells surround a cancer cell. Doctors could be a step closer to finding the most effective way to treat cancer with a double whammy of a virus combined with boosting the natural immune system, according to a pioneering study by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and...
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Upgrading the immune system to fight cancer
There have been few cancer treatments with such a promising future as using the patient’s own immune system. Known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, or CAR-T, this treatment uses re-engineered killer T-cells to attack cancer cells, but it also causes potentially deadly side effects. Now, research led by Assistant Professor Wilson Wong (BME) is opening doors...
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Molecule may help tame virulent bacteria and prevent infection
Findings discuss how Staphylococcus can colonize our noses but not cause infection According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in three humans carries Staphylococcus aureus, or “staph,” in our noses, and 2 percent of us carry the dreaded methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strain that thwarts common antibiotics. So how is it that most...
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Synthetic biology approaches to improving immunotherapy
The AACR 2018 Meeting in Chicago is ending today and has featured the major new results in cancer treatment and immunotherapy treatments in particular. Immunotherapy, the use of the patient’s own immune system to attack their cancer, has become a hot area of research and clinical development. While there are several ways in which researchers are approaching immunotherapy, here...
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New Ovarian Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise
Ovarian cancer is a particularly hard-to-treat disease. It’s often diagnosed late, and even after surgery and chemotherapy, around 85 percent of patients relapse and develop chemoresistance. But a preliminary clinical trial, carried out by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, has shown promising results for a new type of vaccine that aims to boost patients’ immune systems...
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Psoriasis treated with compound derived from immune cells
A compound derived from immune cells treats psoriasis in mice and holds promise for other autoimmune diseases, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The compound suppresses an inflammatory pathway that is overactive in many autoimmune diseases, suggesting that it may be effective against multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and...
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Your immune system holds the line against repeat invaders, thanks to this molecule
JUPITER, FL–April 17, 2018–Memory T cells are a critical element of our immune system’s historical archive. To prevent repeat infections, these cells retain a record of germs they’ve fought before. IMAGE: (THE RESEARCHERS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) ADAM GETZLER, HUITIAN DIAO, DAPENG WANG AND MATTHEW PIPKIN LED THE STUDY ON THE FLORIDA CAMPUS OF THE SCRIPPS...
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Scientists discover sweet spot of activity in immune system key to fighting cancer
Concentrated CD40 receptions (grey wavy lines) on the immune cell surface. Credit: University of Southampton Scientists at the University of Southampton have shown how stimulating a specific location on the surface of immune cells can be targeted with antibodies to help in their fight against cancer. The new work concerns a receptor called CD40 found...
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T cell antigen receptors act alone—longstanding immunological mystery solved
Every T cell receptor of the living T cell (left) is marked with a special marker molecule. The bottom part of the cell can be imaged with a highly sensitive microscope. What happens when T cells detect suspicious activity in the body? Researchers from the TU Wien and the Medical University of Vienna have revealed...