Can writing about pain and secret feelings really help boost your body’s immune system? BBC Future investigates. In 1986 the psychology professor James Pennebaker discovered something extraordinary, something which would inspire a generation of researchers to conduct several hundred studies. He asked students to spend 15 minutes writing about the biggest trauma of their lives...
Category: <span>Immunology</span>
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‘Hail Mary’ mechanism can rescue cells with severely damaged chromosomes
Understanding the mechanisms involved in chromosome repair, and how they can fail, may lead to new strategies to combat cancer The DNA vital to the life of a cell is packaged in chromosomes, and a variety of checkpoints, repair mechanisms, and other cellular safeguards exist to maintain the integrity of the chromosomes during cell growth...
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Unmasking rogue cells in the immune system
Genetic alteration of a mouse embryo to “knock down” — which is to disrupt — the JunB gene, which is then going to be unavailable for the immune system cells to use. The immune system is a formidable defense against microbial intruders, identifying and eliminating threats through an extremely intricate and adaptable network of...
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Study makes breakthrough in understanding of proteins and their impact on immune system
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have made a breakthrough in the understanding of how our genetic make-up can impact on the activity of the immune system and our ability to fight cancer. The study, conducted in conjunction with researchers from Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was published in Science Signaling and focusses on a protein called ULBP6. Proteins are...
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The immune system promotes spontaneous heart regeneration
Cardiomyocyte proliferation during EAM. In adult mammal hearts, cardiomyoctyes do not proliferate following damage such as that caused by myocardial infarction. However, in some mammals, cardiomyocyte proliferation occurs. “Neonatal cardiomyocytes proliferate, and the cardiomyocytes of zebrafish proliferate through adulthood,” says Osaka University Professor Yasushi Fujio. However, hearts recover well from myocarditis, suggesting adult cardiomyocytes can proliferate...
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Cancer immunotherapy may work in unexpected way
Researchers have found that a cancer therapy may prompt a type of immune cell called a macrophage (illustrated above) to attack cancer. Antibodies to the proteins PD-1 and PD-L1 have been shown to fight cancer by unleashing the body’s T cells, a type of immune cell. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of...
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Antibody for fighting cancer emerges
Killer T cells surround a cancer cell. While studying the underpinnings of multiple sclerosis, investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital came across important clues for how to treat a very different disease: cancer. In a paper published in Science Immunology, a group of researchers led by neurologist Howard Weiner, MD, describe an antibody that can...
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Researchers identify surface proteins responsible for navigating immune cells to sites of inflammation
The protein tags that adorn immune cells and engage with receptors to promote inflammation in the body’s endothelial tissues are not what they were thought to be. An investigation by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has identified the true surface proteins expressed by T-cells that mediate this molecular liaison, a...
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Attacking A Patient’s Immune Cells May Wipe Out HIV
Last February, Timothy Ray Brown — a.k.a. ‘the Berlin patient’ — celebrated his 10th birthday. Well, sort of. His ’10th birthday’ actually refers to the 10th anniversary marking his recognition as the only person in the world to be cured of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Brown’s incredible story began in 1995 when he was diagnosed...
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New gene therapy for vision loss proven safe in humans
A fundus photo showing intermediate age-related macular degeneration. In a small and preliminary clinical trial, Johns Hopkins researchers and their collaborators have shown that an experimental gene therapy that uses viruses to introduce a therapeutic gene into the eye is safe and that it may be effective in preserving the vision of people with...