After decades of frustration and failed attempts, scientists might finally be on the cusp of developing therapies to restore immune ‘tolerance’ in conditions such as diabetes, lupus and multiple sclerosis. Cassandra Willyard Antigen presenting cells (illustrated, right) can sometimes train T cells (left) not to attack. Credit: Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library Back in 2001, immunologist...
Engineered immune cells, most commonly used to treat cancers, show their power against lupus and other immune disorders. Composite coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of T-cells (small round) and a cervical cancer cell (Hela) T cells (smaller cells) can be engineered to recognize cancer cells — and also other immune cells.Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library...
by Hokkaido University In mice models with adoptive transfer experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, treatment with itaconate (right) greatly ameliorates the effects of the disease, compared to untreated mice . Credit: Kuniyuki Aso, et al. Nature Communications, February 27, 2023 Researchers have revealed the modulatory effect of the anti-inflammatory metabolite itaconate on T helper and T regulatory cells, which...
GARVAN INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH IMAGE: A KILLER T CELL (CENTRE) HUNTING A TARGET CELL. CREDIT: NIH IMAGE GALLERY CREDIT: NIH IMAGE GALLERY Gene variants associated with leukaemia can produce ‘rogue’ immune cells that drive autoimmune diseases, according to a new study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Scientists had previously noticed that leukaemia...
BY MITCH LESLIE 8 MAR 2022 10:00 AM A newly identified class of the human immune system’s T cells may kill other T cells, helping wind down attacks on infections and suppressing autoimmune conditions. DAVID SCHARF/SCIENCE SOURCE The price for a vigilant immune system that can pounce on tumor cells or pathogens is occasional friendly...
by Brigham and Women’s Hospital Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Autoimmune diseases (AD) such as rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, autoimmune thyroid disease and psoriasis, are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality as people age. Few effective treatments are available for AD, but some preclinical studies have hinted that supplements, including vitamin D and omega-3 (or...
IMAGE: SCHEMATIC ILLUSTRATION OF THE NEW MOF ANTIBODY CRYSTALS AND THEIR ABILITY TO SPECIFICALLY SEEK OUT CANCER CELLS TO DETECT THEM AND DELIVER HIGHLY POTENT DRUGS WITH UNPRECEDENTED PRECISION. CREDIT: DR FRANCESCO CARRARO AND PROF PAOLO FALCARO (CO-FIRST AND CO-SENIOR AUTHOR ON THE ADVANCED MATERIALS PAPER) It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: a...
by La Jolla Institute for Immunology Vitamin C is a key ingredient for immune cell function. Credit: La Jolla Institute for Immunology You can’t make a banana split without bananas. And you can’t generate stable regulatory T cells without Vitamin C or enzymes called TET proteins, it appears. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) help control inflammation and...
MICHIGAN MEDICINE – UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN A team of researchers has found disrupting the interaction between cancer cells and certain immune cells is more effective at killing cancer cells than current immunotherapy treatments. The findings, which include studies in cell lines and animal models, appeared in JCI Insight and focus on a protein called CD6 as a target for a...
by Tokyo University of Science Credit: CC0 Public Domain Autoimmune diseases are typically caused when the immune system, whose purpose is to deal with foreign threats to the body, incorrectly recognizes the body’s own proteins and cells as threats and activates immune cells to attack them. In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, a well-known autoimmune disease,...
